A four-member inquiry committee constituted to conduct a thorough review and assessment of the circumstances that led to massive flight cancellations in December, submitted its report to aviation regulator, DGCA, on Friday, said a senior official.
Headed by DGCA Joint Director General, Sanjay K Bramhane, the panel was constituted on December 5. Its other members included DGCA’s Deputy Director General, Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector, Captain Kapil Manglik, and Flight Operations Inspector, Captain Rampal.
Although details of the report could not be ascertained by the press, copies of the report have reportedly been shared with the office of Civil Aviation Minister, K Rammohan Naidu, and Civil Aviation Secretary, Samir Kumar Sinha.
After hundreds of IndiGo flights were cancelled or delayed from December 2 onward, the DGCA ordered the airline – the country’s largest – to reduce its winter schedule by 10 per cent, and issued show-cause notices to its CEO, Pieter Elbers, and COO, Isidre Porqueras.
While inadequate planning in implementing the revised pilot rest norms was slated to be the key reason for the crisis, the DGCA order also cited deficiencies in internal oversight, operational preparedness, and compliance planning that “warrants an independent examination”.
The flight regulator also observed that despite advance instructions to the airline from time to time to implement the provisions related to the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, the airline failed to forecast crew availability, conduct timely training, and realign rosters. The non-adherence of directions resulted in a flight crisis of huge magnitude.
In a review meeting with the flight watchdog, IndiGo acknowledged its failure to anticipate the actual crew requirement under the revised norms, showing major planning and assessment gaps in implementing Phase-II of FDTL CAR 2024, as per the order by DGCA.
The first phase of the FDTL had come into force from July 1, and the second was to be enforced from November 1.
“This shortfall directly contributed to large-scale disruptions, with cancellations reaching 170-200 flights daily, severely affecting network integrity and passenger convenience. Where it was noticed in the month of November, the flight cancellations of IndiGo were maximum vis-à-vis other airlines,” the order by DGCA read.
Also Read: IndiGo to compensate stranded flyers with 10,000 vouchers
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