IndiGo crisis | Airline chief to appear before DGCA again on December 12 amid flight disruptions

Mumbai: Aviation watchdog DGCA has asked IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to appear before it again on Friday amid ongoing flight disruptions, according to sources.

DGCA had last week formed a four-member panel, comprising Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, with a mandate to identify the root causes of widespread operational disruptions at the Rahul Bhatia-controlled domestic carrier.

Elbers, who was summoned by DGCA on Thursday, will appear before the officials again on Friday, the sources said.

The panel's mandate includes assessing manpower planning, fluctuating rostering systems, and the airline's preparedness to implement the latest duty period and rest norms for pilots, which came into effect from November 1 this year.

IndiGo, in a regulatory filing, said that Elbers has been asked to appear on December 12, before the Committee of Officers at DGCA, which is examining the matter related to flight disruptions.

Earlier in the day, sources said increasing oversight, DGCA officials on Thursday began monitoring IndiGo's operations, refunds, and other processes from the airline's headquarters.

They said the officials are expected to submit daily reports on the situation at the airline, which has been grappling with significant operational disruptions and the subsequent cancellation of thousands of flights due to planning failures related to the implementation of new pilot and crew duty norms.

On Wednesday, DGCA decided to deploy two members from the oversight panel at IndiGo's Gurugram headquarters to monitor cancellation status, crew deployment, unplanned leave, and routes hit by staff shortages.

The safety regulator also summoned Elbers to appear at its office at 3 PM on Thursday and sought a complete report, along with comprehensive data and updates, relating to the recent operational disruptions.

Two officers from the DGCA office - a senior statistics officer and a deputy director - will be deployed at the IndiGo corporate office to monitor the status of domestic and international cancellations, refund status, on-time performance, compensation to the passengers as per the civil aviation requirement and baggage return, as per a DGCA order issued on Wednesday.

At the same time, senior officials from the DGCA will carry out immediate on-site inspections to assess IndiGo's operations across 11 domestic airports, according to the order.

All assigned officers will visit their respective airports in the next 2-3 days and submit a comprehensive report to the Director of Operations for the flight safety department at the DGCA in New Delhi within 24 hours of their visit.

Since last week, IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations. The cancellations peaked on December 5 and have declined since. The airline on Tuesday said its operations have stabilised and are back to normal levels.

But the disruptions continued with the airline cancelling a record 1,600 flights in a day on December 5.

On Thursday, the airline had cancelled 60 flights at Bengaluru Airport.

As part of the winter schedule for 2025-26, the airline has been operating over 2,200 flights per day, which has already been cut by 10 per cent, as per a Civil Aviation Ministry order of December 10.

The latest order is part of a suite of actions by authorities that followed IndiGo, which controls over 65 per cent of the market share, cancelling more than 4,000 flights since December 2 that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, upending their vacation plans, important meetings, and weddings.