Minister vows strict action against airline regarding recent operational chaos

The Central Government has come down heavily on the country’s largest carrier, attributing the recent widespread disruption in air travel directly to failures within the airline's leadership. Speaking at a recent event, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu asserted that the chaos witnessed earlier this week was a clear case of "gross mismanagement" by IndiGo.

The disruption, which left thousands of passengers stranded and sparked anger among Odisha air travellers and flyers across the nation, has been stabilized as of Wednesday. However, the Aviation Minister expressed shock at how an airline with such vast experience allowed the situation to spiral out of control. According to Naidu, the primary trigger was a failure in the airline's internal crew rostering system, rather than external factors.

Minister Naidu dismissed the narrative that the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms were solely to blame. He pointed out that these regulations, designed to prevent pilot fatigue, were implemented in November with the airline’s full knowledge. "We were in constant touch, and they never raised any red flags. Other airlines have complied without such a collapse," Naidu stated. He emphasized that the crisis could have been easily avoided had the airline planned better.

A key point of contention raised by the Minister was the airline’s staffing strategy. He questioned why IndiGo had put a freeze on hiring pilots for the past six months, a decision that likely exacerbated the manpower shortage when the new rules kicked in. Furthermore, he criticized the lack of communication, asking why passengers were allowed to reach airports only to find their flights cancelled at the last minute.

While IndiGo Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta recently released a video apology - denying any deliberate attempt to manipulate the system - the government is not taking the airline's word at face value. A thorough inquiry by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is currently underway.

Naidu assured passengers that accountability will be fixed. "If the investigation reveals incompetence within the senior management, we will not hesitate to take necessary action," he affirmed. The Ministry is closely monitoring the situation to ensure such an IndiGo flight crisis does not repeat itself.