New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers, holding the airline’s top management directly responsible for the massive wave of flight cancellations and delays that has thrown air travel across the country into disarray. Elbers has been given 24 hours to explain why enforcement action should not be taken against him for the large-scale disruptions in IndiGo’s operations.
The regulator has alleged prima facie non-compliance with Rule 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and related Civil Aviation Requirements on pilot fatigue management, saying the operational collapse points to serious lapses in planning, oversight and resource management. The notice also states that as CEO, Elbers failed in his duty to ensure reliable operations and adequate facilities for affected passengers, with travellers facing severe inconvenience and hardship because of the disruptions.
In a recent video message, Elbers acknowledged the scale and complexity of IndiGo’s network and said it would take time to restore normalcy, indicating that operations are expected to stabilise only between December 10 and 15. The crisis, triggered after the rollout of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms led to acute crew shortages, has resulted in record cancellations and delays across multiple airports.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that a detailed probe is underway into the IndiGo fiasco and assured that strict action will follow once responsibility is fixed. He added that a four-member committee has been set up to examine what went wrong at the airline, recommend corrective measures and ensure passengers do not face such disruption again.
To contain a sudden spike in ticket prices amid the capacity crunch, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has imposed temporary nationwide fare caps on domestic economy tickets, ranging roughly from Rs 7,500 on short-haul sectors up to Rs 18,000 on the longest routes, excluding airport charges and taxes. The ministry has also directed airlines to process full refunds for affected passengers within stipulated timelines and warned that any violation of fare caps or refund norms will invite immediate regulatory action.
(Inputs from IANS)