IndiGo cancels over 220 flights at Mumbai, Delhi airports

Mumbai: IndiGo cancelled more than 220 flights at Delhi and Mumbai airports on Sunday, as the disruptions entered the sixth day while efforts are on to normalise operations.

The disruptions have resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays in the last few days, causing hardships to thousands of passengers.

Sources said at least 112 flights were cancelled at the Mumbai airport and 109 flights at Delhi airport.

After cancelling approximately 1,600 of its 2,300 daily flights on Friday, the airline saw a reduction in disruptions on Saturday, with cancellations falling to around 800, according to sources.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Porqueras on Saturday received DGCA notices, seeking explanations within 24 hours on the massive flight disruptions.

"The main objective (of operating just 700 flights on Friday) was to reboot the network, systems, and rosters so that we could start afresh today (Saturday) with higher number of flights, improved stability, and there are some early signs of improvement," IndiGo had said in a statement.

The airline said it operated 1,500 flights on Saturday.

In the notices sent to Elbers and Porqueras, the regulator said the large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management.

The notices mentioned that the primary cause of the flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) scheme for the airline.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Elbers and Porqueras to reply within 24 hours.

At the same time, government sources told PTI on Saturday that authorities will take appropriate action in the matter of IndiGo flight disruptions, depending on the inquiry committee findings.

As flight disruptions continued for the fifth straight day, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, along with senior civil aviation ministry officials, held a "serious meeting" with Elbers to review the situation and address the issues, the official said.

The meeting, held in the national capital on Saturday, was attended by Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, and DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, among others.

At the meeting, the IndiGo CEO was also asked to ensure that the airline complies with the new FDTL within a given timeframe.

The official told PTI that the immediate priority is to restore normalcy in flight operations and the airline has been asked to ensure prompt refund of tickets.

There have been reports that the authorities might take strong action against the airline and its CEO.

Against the backdrop of a large number of flights cancelled and delayed at various airports, causing hardships to thousands of passengers, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday set up a four-member inquiry panel to ascertain the reasons for the situation and recommend mitigation measures.

The committee comprises Joint Director General Sanjay K Bramhane and Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector Captain Kapil Manglik and Flight Operations Inspector Captain Rampal at the DGCA.

The committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the DGCA within 15 days to enable necessary regulatory enforcement action and ensure institutional strengthening, the order said.

On Saturday, various measures, including capping on airfares and direction to the airline to ensure complete ticket refund for cancelled or delayed flights to all passengers by 8 pm on Sunday were initiated by the ministry as part of efforts to normalise flight operations as well as ensure passenger hardships are reduced.