Suboptimal response: DGCA must ensure Indigo-type chaos is not repeated

The penalty of ₹22.20 crore slapped on IndiGo, along with a warning to its top executives, some 20 days after a panel set up by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) submitted its probe report, is a suboptimal  response to address the large-scale flight disruption caused by the airline in December. The regulator must take greater responsibility for the chaotic situation witnessed across Indian airports last month. Rather than just imposing a penalty, which is being termed “very very meagre’’ by the Federation of Indian Pilots, the DGCA should have ensured smooth flight operations without any delay and investigated thoroughly the real cause of the disruption. Oddly, the detailed findings of the probe committee have not been made public even weeks after the submission of the report. Tens of thousands of passengers who were affected because of the flight cancellations deserve to know the cause of the disruption. The disclosure of the report will send a message to the aviation industry, the regulator, and the government on how such a situation can be avoided in future. 

According to the DGCA, overoptimising operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness, and deficiencies in system-software support were among the primary reasons for the disruption. There have been no elaborate explanations. Although IndiGo has now told the regulator that it will not cancel any flights after February 10 — the revised date set for implementing the full set of “flight duty time limitation” (FDTL) norms — it is for the DGCA to make the transition to the new regime foolproof. Safety of passengers and quality of service are of paramount significance and nothing should be left to chance. During the peak disruption period in early December, the number of flights cancelled stood at 2,507 and those delayed at 1,852, impacting more than 300,000 passengers across the country. The DGCA penalty, however, has been calculated for non-compliance with norms from December 5, 2025, to February 10, 2026. The fine amount per day has come to a little more than ₹30 lakh. 

While both IndiGo and the regulator are under scrutiny for the chaotic aviation scene in the country, questions are also being raised about the end use of the penalty money. Examples are being cited on how the United States Department of Transport had distributed the penalty imposed on an American airline for violating consumer-protection laws a few years ago, to the passengers who were impacted because of the disruption. The DGCA can follow that example. The government had promised strict action soon after the flight disruption and large-scale passenger complaints. As for action, only the senior vice-president for operations control centre has been removed so far, besides the DGCA’s penalty of ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo and warnings to Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers as well as Chief Operating Officer Isidre  Porqueras. 

Even as the DGCA action has fallen short of expectations, the wait is on for the investigation report of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on the matter. The CCI probe should clarify whether IndiGo, with a dominating market share in the aviation space, breached the competition principles. The regulator allowed an exemption to IndiGo from FDTL rules till February 10 following the chaos across airports. The CCI probe should ascertain if IndiGo’s claims of pilot shortage, leading to roster mismanagement, were genuine.