IndiGo COO, DGCA officials appear before Parl panel on flight chaos

The committee did not take any view and decided to wait till the report of the ongoing investigation ordered by the civil aviation ministry comes, the sources said

A parliamentary panel examining the recent air traffic disruptions tried to fix accountability for IndiGo’s mass cancellation of flights as senior aviation officials and IndiGo Chief Operating Officer (COO) Isidro Porqueras appeared before it on Wednesday. However, the committee found the replies of the airline and aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ‘evasive and unconvincing’, according to sources.

 

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Jha, did not come to any conclusion, and decided to wait for the report of the ongoing inquiry of the Civil Aviation Ministry before fixing the onus for the chaos, which left thousands of travellers stranded across the country’s airports, the sources added. The ministry has constituted a four-member committee to review the circumstances leading to the massive operational disruptions. Its report is expected to be submitted on December 28. 

Some of the MPs questioned whether the ministry was unprepared for such a situation following the implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms or if it was an ‘arm-twisting technique’ adopted by IndiGo to get the exemption for the new routine, the sources said.

 

The replies of the representatives of the IndiGo and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCAO) were ‘evasive and unconvincing’ and they tried to put the blame on technical issues rather than taking responsibility, a source privy to the discussions in the meeting said.

 

A team of officials led by Porqueras represented the airline, while Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha led the team of the ministry and DGCA. Representatives of Air India, Air India Express, Akasha and SpiceJet also attended the nearly four-hour-long meeting.

 

Representatives of pilots were also represented at the meeting, according to sources, and they pointed out that despite being domain experts, their views go unheeded by the DGCA on crucial issues such as FDTL.

 

The members said the panel has taken serious note of the difficulties faced by thousands of passengers due to disruption in air services.

 

Even parliamentarians, who were in the national capital for the Winter Session, faced the brunt of flight cancellations by IndiGo and delays by other airlines, a panel member said.

 

Several MPs also received complaints from people about air fares shooting up due to the scenario.

 

IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights for days beginning December 2 across the country. The DGCA has served notices to IndiGo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers and COO Porqueras, seeking their explanation.

 

In a statement, IndiGo had said the Board of Interglobe Aviation, its parent company, has set up a Crisis Management Group, “which is meeting regularly to monitor the situation”.

 

“The company’s board of directors is doing everything possible to take care of the challenges faced by its customers and ensure refunds to passengers,” it added.