Delhi, Dec 10: With the woes of passengers continue and the backlash on IndiGo airliner is on the rise, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has summoned the CEO in this connection.
In the summon, the authorities have directed IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers for personal appearance before the regulator on December 11.
The DGCA has directed IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to appear before the regulator on December 11 to submit comprehensive data and updates regarding the airline’s recent operational disruptions.
According to the DGCA directive, the CEO, along with senior officials from all relevant departments, has been instructed to attend the meeting and present detailed information across key operational areas.
The DGCA has sought updates on flight restoration, including the status of restoring flight services across the network, progress in re-accommodating affected passengers, priority handling for vulnerable travellers such as the elderly, medical passengers, and unaccompanied minors, and the monitoring mechanism to ensure timely completion of the restoration.
The regulator has also asked for IndiGo’s pilot and crew recruitment plan, including the current strength, the recruitment and training pipeline for the upcoming months, and measures implemented to prevent roster shortages and FTDL-related issues.
Apart from it, the DGCA has resolved to appoint two supervision officials in IndiGo’s corporate officea at Gurugaom to look into the crisis.
The oversight team will work at the Gurugram office that will look after the fleet, pilot numbers, crew utilisation and unplanned leaves of the crew members.
In addition, two officers deployed in the corporate office will monitor the flight cancellation status on both domestic and international levels, refund status, on-time performance, compensation to the passengers and baggage return. The teams are required to submit a daily report by 6 pm.
The measures came after IndiGo’s inadequate preparation for the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FTDL) rules by the Centre led to widespread network-wide disruption in the airline’s operations, leading to hundreds of flights being cancelled.
The disruption led to thousands of passengers being stranded and sparked an unprecedented crisis in India’s aviation system.
While the government granted a temporary exemption to IndiGo from some night operations-related changes in the new FDTL norms, it has stepped up scrutiny of the airline by initiating an inquiry by a DGCA panel.
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