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IndiGo chaos: DGCA suspends 4 flight operations inspectors
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended four FOIs in a tacit admission of regulatory gaps during the IndiGo scheduling meltdown
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday suspended four flight operations inspectors (FOIs) in a tacit admission of regulatory gaps during the IndiGo scheduling meltdown that affected millions of flyers this month even as the embattled airline’s chief appeared before the regulator for a second day running.
These inspectors are senior officials who work as part of DGCA’s regulatory and safety oversight functions, often deployed to monitor airline operations. “Contracts of these FOIs with the DGCA have been terminated in relation to the recent IndiGo crisis,” an official said, citing the order dated December 11.
The officers are Rishi Raj Chatterjee, consultant, deputy chief FOI, Seema Jhamnani, senior FOI, Anil Kumar Pokhariyal, consultant FOI, and Priyam Kaushik, consultant FOI. Chatterjee worked with Vistara, Jhamnani with the erstwhile Indian Airlines, Pokhariyal with Alliance Air, and Kaushik with IndiGo, till 2024, said people aware of developments.
“Consequent upon approval of the competent authority, the following FOls under various categories, on contract basis, in DGCA are hereby relieved from DGCA with immediate effect to join their respective parent organisations,” the order stated.
The action came amid mounting criticism of the airline and the government’s handling of the crisis that saw thousands of scrapped flights, millions of stranded passengers and airports overflowing with misdirected pieces of baggage since December 2. Even on Friday, around 160 flights were cancelled, despite assurances of normal operations by the carrier as well as the government.
The government has sought to tighten the screws on IndiGo and summoned the airline’s chief executive officer Pieter Elbers to appear before a four-member committee of DGCA on Thursday and Friday. The regulator also summoned chief operating officer Isidro Porqueras as well. “The four member DGCA committee summoned both COO and CEO separately with regard to the on-going investigation,” an official aware of the development said.
Separately, fair trade watchdog Competition Commission of India is examining whether IndiGo, which controls 65% of the country’s aviation market, violated competition norms, a senior official said on Friday. CCI is internally examining whether IndiGo violated competition norms, a senior official told PTI, adding that aspects such as the overall dominant position, dominance in particular routes, and potential abuse of dominance will be looked into. To be sure, there is no formal complaint against IndiGo and CCI is examining whether competition rules have been violated suo motu, the official added.
HT reported earlier this week on data presented in Parliament that showed how far the airline had stretched its self-touted lean operations structure –– IndiGo’s pilot strength saw a 7% reduction between March and December even as the airline was scheduled to fly 6% more flights in the winter season compared to the summer schedule.
Under fire, IndiGo announced on Friday that the company’s board approved the appointment of Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, to find out the “root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption”. The decision was taken following the recommendation of the Crisis Management Group (CMG) constituted by the IndiGo board just after disruptions started. “With the board’s approval now in place, the review will begin at the earliest, and the independent expert reviewer will submit a comprehensive report to the Board upon completion,” said an IndiGo spokesperson.
For decades, the low-cost carrier that controls 65% of India’s domestic aviation market relied on aggressive scheduling and maximum night-flight utilisation -- a business model that collapsed when new safety regulations increased the mandatory weekly rest period for pilots. The crisis became apparent on December 2, when IndiGo, which prides itself on its heady on-time performance numbers, cancelled over 100 of its 2,300-odd flights. Between then and December 9, the airline cancelled an estimated 5,500 flights and delayed much of the rest. These were largely domestic flights as its international operations remained relatively unscathed.
People scrambled to reschedule their flights, struggled to get refunds and find their luggage as the airline stonewalled passengers and offered little transparency. As the turbulence deepened, the ministry and regulator also came under fire for not doing enough to mitigate the crisis.
On December 5, DGCA exempted Indigo’s Airbus A320 fleet from certain rules on pilot duty hours at night and allowed IndiGo to call back pilots deputed elsewhere for flying duties. Separately, it withdrew a rule that prevented airlines from counting pilot leave as weekly rest to meet flying duty norms. Still, the disruptions continued unabated. The move was criticised by pilots and experts who said that this would compromise safety, which was the primary motivation for such rules. The regulator insisted the exemption was granted “solely to facilitate operational stabilisation and in no way amounts to dilution of safety requirements”.
As the ministry and the regulator came under fire, DGCA on Wednesday installed officers at IndiGo’s corporate office and airports to oversee and report on the airline’s flailing operations. An eight-member team of senior flight operations inspectors will scrutinise IndiGo total fleet, the number of pilots, network details and crew utilisation. A two-member team, also deployed at IndiGo’s corporate office, will monitor the status of cancellations, on-time performance, refunds and baggage returns to fliers.
The government also trimmed the airline’s winter schedule by 10% on Tuesday.
