MC EXCLUSIVE IndiGo has not yet received a notice from CCI, but internal inquiry continues

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IndiGo has not yet received any notice from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on the breach of competition norms, a source directly privy to the matter told Moneycontrol.

The competition regulator is yet to complete is initial assessment in the conduct of IndiGo and its role in the flight disruptions that took place earlier in December, a second source said. "If at all, a formal probe is initiated, it will be done in accordance with Section 4 of the Competition Act," the person added.

Moneycontrol had reported on December 12 that the CCI has initiated a suo-motu inquiry in the IndiGo case, and if any violation of competition norms is found, the regulator may impose a monetary penalty on the airline, according to an official.

IndiGo has a market share of more than 65 percent in India’s aviation sector, and earlier this month it had cancelled more than 2,000 flights. The cancellations were a result of the airline failing to plan for tighter safety regulations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded across the country. It also caused a significant surge in airfares.

To be sure, Section 4 of the Competition Act pertains to 'abuse of dominance' that can be exploitative or exclusionary. Section 4(2) of the Act lists practices that are considered an abuse of dominant position. These are broadly categorised into exploitative abuses (harming consumers) and exclusionary abuses (harming competitors).

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the primary cause of the crisis was IndiGo’s failure to make adequate arrangements to comply with revised staffing, duty-time and rostering requirements introduced under the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) scheme.