The DGCA, the aviation regulator in India has suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FIOs) after a spate of mass cancellations of IndiGo flights that left thousands of passengers stranded in the country. Their task was to supervise the safety of the operations, the pilot training level and the general compliance of IndiGo with the regulations. Their suspension is only hours before the appearance of the IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers before the DGCA to answer the disruptions that have been happening.
The cancellations became extremely high last week with over 1,600 IndiGo flights cancelling within one day, and it was one of the worst operational crises that the airline has ever experienced. The case has been massively attributed to the fact that IndiGo had not fully enforced the second step of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rule, which became effective in November. The new rules aimed at minimizing fatigue among pilots, and the airline was allegedly unsuccessful in aligning the schedules of the crews and this led to extensive shortages. IndiGo has also been criticised by government officials regarding its bad mismanagement of the crew roster.
To calm the situation, the government set stern orders, such as deadlines on refund processing and order to other airlines to avoid the skyrocketing of fares during the mayhem. On Thursday, the officials of DGCA were present in the headquarters of IndiGo with a direct focus on monitoring its operations following the cancellation of more than 200 flights in just two cities in Delhi and Bengaluru.
IndiGo has been now instructed to cut down on its daily operations by 10 percent until normalcy is restored. The airline will operate approximately 1,950 flights per day with an estimated traffic of 3 lakh passengers per day according to the estimates given by PTI as compared to the typical 2,300 flights that it operates during a winter schedule.
All in all, there have been almost 5,000 cancellations since December 2, when the disruptions were made.
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