IndiGo has told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it is “profusely apologetic” for the massive nationwide flight disruptions last week, insisting that the crisis resulted from an “unfortunate
and unforeseeable confluence” of multiple operational challenges.
The airline submitted its formal response to the DGCA after the regulator issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers over more than 1,000 cancellations in a single day, the highest ever by an Indian carrier.
In its reply, IndiGo said it was “deeply regretful” about the chaos but argued that it was “realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” immediately due to the scale of its operations.
It noted that DGCA guidelines allow 15 days to respond to such notices, and said it needed additional time to complete a comprehensive root-cause analysis. The airline assured that the full report would be submitted once complete.
Meanwhile, sources told CNN-News18 that Government officials and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are expected to meet IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers at around 11 am on Tuesday to review the airline’s recent operational failures.
The Centre is also examining whether certain IndiGo routes need to be curtailed or restructured to stabilise operations and prevent a repeat of the large-scale cancellations witnessed last week.
Airline Flags Five Factors
IndiGo said the disruption stemmed from a combination of factors that overlapped in varying degrees:
- Minor technical glitches
- Winter schedule transitions
- Adverse weather conditions
- Increasing congestion in the aviation system
- Challenges linked to implementing updated crew rostering rules under Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) Phase II
The airline said it had already been in discussions with the DGCA regarding difficulties in implementing FDTL Phase II and had sought exemptions and extensions.
The cumulative impact of these issues, IndiGo said, began affecting on-time performance in early December, which in turn hit crew availability.
‘Network Reboot’ Triggered Cancellations
IndiGo said it took a “drastic measure” on December 5 by “rebooting” its network, cancelling a significant number of flights to clear stranded passengers, ease airport congestion and reposition aircraft and crew.
The airline said operations began returning to normal from December 6.
IndiGo also said it provided timely notifications, meals, hotel accommodation and transport “to the best extent possible” under DGCA rules, and has processed substantial refunds for affected passengers.
DGCA Examining Reply
The DGCA said it is reviewing IndiGo’s response and will take appropriate enforcement action.
In its notice to CEO Pieter Elbers, the regulator had said IndiGo failed to make “adequate arrangements” for the smooth implementation of the revised FDTL scheme, calling it the “primary cause” of the disruption.
It accused the CEO of failing in his responsibility to ensure reliable operations and passenger support, and asked him to explain within 24 hours why action should not be taken against him under aviation rules.
A separate notice was issued to IndiGo’s Accountable Manager.
