Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has issued a stern warning, stating that those responsible for the massive IndiGo flight cancellations and delays will be held accountable and made to 'pay for it'. The announcement came as the Centre launched a formal probe into the operational crisis that has disrupted travel plans for thousands of passengers across India.
Centre Launches Inquiry, Vows Strict Action
The government has constituted a committee to investigate the root causes of the widespread disruptions. Minister Naidu emphasized that the panel will identify where and by whom things went wrong, leading to necessary and strict action. He stressed that the matter would not be left unattended, underscoring the government's priority to restore normalcy to civil aviation services and provide all possible support to affected passengers.
The Trigger: New Crew Duty Norms and Mismanagement
The immediate trigger for the chaos was the rollout of the second phase of the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms last month, which led to crew shortages. While the government has since put these rules on hold, Naidu pointed out that other major airlines like Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa had managed to adjust to the new requirements over the past month without major issues.
He attributed IndiGo's crisis to 'unanticipated' problems and subsequent 'mismanagement', which caused the situation to snowball. The airline, which commands over 60% of the domestic passenger market, saw its on-time performance plummet to a mere 19.7% on Wednesday, December 3, down from 35% the previous day and around 50% on Monday.
Passenger Chaos and Airline's Response
The cascading effect of cancellations and delays created scenes of chaos at major airports from Delhi and Chennai to Srinagar. Social media platforms were flooded with complaints and frustrations from stranded IndiGo passengers.
In response, IndiGo's CEO, Pieter Elbers, issued a public apology. He projected that flight cancellations would reduce to under 1,000 on Saturday and promised a complete restoration of the airline's schedule between December 10 and 15. The Centre is now closely monitoring the FDTL norms and airline scheduling networks to ensure all carriers follow due diligence and prevent a recurrence of such large-scale travel misery.
