Govt to cut IndiGo’s winter schedule, orders 15-day probe into crew-management failures: Aviation Minister Naidu

The minister also said that refunds worth Rs 745 crore have been given for 7,30,655 cancelled PNRs from December 1 to 8 (as of 5 pm).

Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday said the government will curtail IndiGo’s winter flight schedule and redistribute those routes to other airlines in the wake of the carrier’s large-scale operational disruptions over the past week.

“We will curtail IndiGo’s routes. They are currently operating 2,200 flights. We will definitely curtail them,” Naidu told Doordarshan News. Speaking extensively on the crisis, Naidu said the incident exposed deeper internal issues within the airline, particularly in crew and pilot utilisation.

“This crisis shows that inside IndiGo, there were internal issues related to crew management and the utilisation of pilots. Because of these internal problems, we saw this entire situation unfold,” he said, “For this, our ministry has formed a committee with four DGCA officers. They have been asked to submit a report within 15 days.”

Naidu also stressed the need to strengthen the aviation regulator following the episode, “DGCA needs more teeth. It already has some, but to reach global standards and prevent such incidents, we will revisit rules and guidelines,” he said, “I will take responsibility for revisiting passenger rights and ensuring they are protected during daily operations as well as during crises.” The minister questioned how the crisis had escalated despite earlier court orders and multiple interactions between the ministry and IndiGo.

“The High Court’s order came in April. We provided clarifications, exemptions and held meetings. Even then, how did such a big issue go unnoticed by IndiGo, which has been operating well for 20 years? Why did they not prepare a proper crisis management plan? These are the questions we want answers to in the inquiry report.”

Addressing criticism that DGCA failed to act proactively, Naidu maintained confidence in the regulator’s role,“I will not accept that DGCA has become a postman. DGCA ensures operational safety and credit also goes to DGCA for implementing FDTL rules properly. DGCA is doing its job, but because this was a major crisis, we will conduct an internal review. We will examine where the gaps were, in any institution or in any decision-making. If required, we will take action.”

Providing an update on passenger relief measures, Naidu said refunds for the recent wave of IndiGo cancellations had progressed significantly.

He said Rs 745 crore in refunds had been issued for 7,30,655 cancelled PNRs between December 1 and 8 (as of 5 pm). He added that 6,000 of 9,000 passenger bags had already been returned, with the remaining scheduled for delivery by Monday night or Tuesday morning.