Aviation Regulator Issues Show-Cause Notice To IndiGo CEO Over Flight Chaos: 'Failed In Your Duty'

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers over widespread flight delays and cancellations that left thousands of passengers stranded across airports in the country.

In the notice, the aviation regulator held the Chief Executive Officer accountable for the airline’s operational meltdown, which led to the cancellation of thousands of flights across major airports.

Demanding an explanation for the airline’s spiralling delays, the aviation regulator gave Elbers 24 hours to respond, warning that failure to do so would invite punitive action.

The DGCA said it had “observed massive disruptions” in IndiGo’s scheduled operations, causing “severe inconvenience, hardship and distress”

to travellers nationwide.

“It has been observed that scheduled flights of M/s Indigo Airlines have recently faced massive disruptions resulting in severe inconvenience, hardship and distress to passengers,” the notice read.

In its notice, the DGCA said the primary cause of the crisis was the airline’s failure to make adequate arrangements required for the smooth implementation of the newly approved Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms. The regulator said the airline’s inability to adjust its rosters and resources in time led to widespread cancellations, delays, crew shortages and cascading disruption across its network.

“It has also been noticed that the primary cause of said flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL scheme for the airline,” the notice added.

The DGCA further said that IndiGo’s large-scale operational collapse pointed to “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management.” It added that the disruptions constituted prima facie non-compliance with Rule 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 7, Series J, Part III (Rev.2) relating to duty period, flight duty time limitations, flight time, and mandatory rest periods for crew.

“As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airline,” the notice stated, adding, “You have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to passengers.”

It also accused the top management of not ensuring adequate preparedness despite prior approvals and regulatory expectations regarding the FDTL transition.

The CEO has been directed to respond within 24 hours, failing which the regulator will “decide the matter ex parte”, potentially opening the door to penalties

IndiGo Crisis

IndiGo’s operational meltdown entered its fifth consecutive day on Saturday, with hundreds of domestic flights cancelled across major airports, marking the worst phase yet of the ongoing crisis. The disruptions are primarily caused by a shortage of pilots that was not anticipated due to planning deficiencies.

Mumbai recorded the highest impact with 109 cancellations, while Delhi followed with 86 scrapped departures, heavily straining India’s two busiest airports.

Earlier on Friday, the crisis triggered a full-scale intervention by the Centre, which ordered a high-level probe, put Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms in abeyance, and directed the airline to initiate automatic refunds for all cancelled flights.

Operating 2,300 flights daily with a fleet of over 400 aircraft, IndiGo has seen its punctuality plummet with the operational disruptions that are expected to continue for many more days.