Passengers wait outside the IndiGo airlines ticketing counter.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Mumbai: The World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai and the All-India Association of Industries (AIAI) have expressed grave concern over the unprecedented operational disruptions that have impacted India's aviation sector over the past week, with the operational challenges faced by IndiGo.
Besides, the episode should remind policymakers of the impending challenge in the sector. Over the week the airline has cancelled more than 2,100 flights, thereby impacting smooth movement of passengers and cargo.
“Images of passengers stranded for hours at airports show a bad image of the economy which is celebrating monumental economic growth. This disruption not only impacts movement of passengers but also has wider ramifications on the hospitality and tourism sector which focuses on connectivity and travel experience," said Dr Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC- Mumbai and President, AIAI.
Dr Kalantri said India’s aviation sector has seen many ups and downs over the years,but "sadly we have not learnt lessons from the past".
“The airline today practically dominates the entire market with the left-over space being scrambled by other competitors. The snowballing of airlines like Deccan Airways into Air Sahara which later was acquired by Jet Airways only to be grounded in a few years owing to the same issues speaks of the inability of the regulator to take prompt steps to save competition. The government should have proactively made efforts to promote competition in a sector where profit margins are thin, while operational costs sky high before the plane could take off,” he added.
"The inability of the airline to anticipate the disruption which might be caused owing to tweak of rules only makes the matter worse. Government’s price cap regulations came into effect when already the price touched sky high and travel became exorbitant,” he said.
Dr. Kalantri said: "This episode should remind policymakers of the impending challenge in the sector. With a thousand planes waiting, the world's third largest airway market should take timely learnings. Incentivizing newer players and fostering competition, data driven forecasting to estimate passenger traffic and formulating long term plans instead of knee jerk reactions in interest of passengers, tourism and businesses should be the priority of the government”.