DGCA stations officers at IndiGo HQ to monitor internal operations

Regulator forms oversight teams to monitor airline's daily operations, crew management, and passenger handling amid crisis

The aviation regulator on Wednesday stationed a group of officials at IndiGo’s headquarters in Gurugram to monitor the day-to-day internal operations of the country’s largest airline, even as it summoned the airline’s CEO Pieter Elbers on Thursday to provide updates on the recent disruptions which led to cancellation of over 4,200 flights in a span of nine days till December 9. 

IndiGo had been operating about 2,300 daily flights — roughly 2,000 domestic and 300 international — until the beginning of this month, when it plunged into an operational crisis after failing to manage its pilot duty roster under the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules that came into effect last month. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday cut its flight schedule by 10 per cent till March. The airline is now operating about 1,900 daily flights. 

 

The DGCA has formed two specialised teams to internally monitor IndiGo’s daily operations. The first is an eight-member “oversight team” of senior flight operations inspectors to review crew management, and the second is a two-member team of senior officers to track passenger-related issues like refunds.

 

Members of both the teams have been stationed at IndiGo’s headquarters in Gurugram on a daily basis, and have been asked to file reports by 6 pm each day to two Joint Director Generals at the DGCA. 

“In view of passenger inconvenience caused due to large-scale disruptions in the operations of IndiGo at various airports across the country, it has been decided to constitute an oversight team,” the regulator said in the order issued to the airline’s CEO Pieter Elbers and its COO Isidre Porqueras. 

The airline, in a statement on X on Wednesday, said its board of directors have been closely monitoring the situation and the airline has had “all hands on deck”. “Please have faith in us. We are getting there,” it added. 

Separately, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said its officials visited major airports across the country on Wednesday to assess the “on-ground situation arising from the ongoing operational crisis of IndiGo and interacted with passengers”. 

The DGCA has also instructed its officers to carry out immediate on-site inspections at major airports across the country. The regulator said the purpose of these visits is to assess safety, operational preparedness, passenger-handling measures and IndiGo's responsiveness during the ongoing disruption. Officers have been asked to speak directly with passengers to gather on-ground feedback. Each officer must submit a full report to the DGCA headquarters within 24 hours of completing the inspection. 

Two members of the DGCA’s oversight team, deployed at IndiGo’s headquarters, will look into 12 areas, including the airline’s total fleet and its average stage length, which is the average distance flown per flight. They will also review the total number of pilots and flight network details, along with “crew utilisation in hours”, which refers to how many hours pilots and cabin crew are actually flying, or on duty. 

The oversight team officials will monitor monthly and daily “deadheading”, meaning situations where crew members travel as passengers to position themselves for another flight duty. They will check how many crew are under training and assess “split-duty” schedules, where crews take a rest break during duty hours but are still considered on duty for regulatory purposes. 

Additionally, they will examine all unplanned leave, such as sick, casual, or emergency leave, the daily number of flights and available crew, the number of sectors disrupted due to crew shortage, and the standby crew strength at each base for both cockpit and cabin crew, the DGCA stated in its order. 

The DGCA’s second team comprises two senior officers, a deputy director from the Air Engineering Directorate and a senior statistical officer. This team will track key service-delivery metrics such as domestic and international cancellation levels, the status of refunds both by the airline and by online travel agents, on-time performance, compensation paid to passengers under the DGCA’s regulations, and the timely return of baggage. 

Elbers summoned 

Through a second order, the DGCA summoned Elbers to appear before the regulator at 1500 hrs on Thursday, directing him to present comprehensive data and updates on the airline’s recent operational disruptions. The order also requires senior executives from all relevant departments of IndiGo to attend the meeting and submit a complete report in advance. 

The regulator has sought a detailed account of IndiGo’s flight restoration efforts, including progress in re-accommodating disrupted passengers and the handling of vulnerable travellers such as senior citizens, medical cases and unaccompanied minors. The airline must also outline its monitoring mechanisms to ensure the timely completion of restoration work across the network. 

It has demanded updated information on the strength of pilots and cabin crew, the recruitment and training pipeline for the coming months, and steps taken to prevent roster shortages and issues linked to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). IndiGo is also required to provide data on cancellations, refunds processed, turnaround timelines and compliance with DGCA refund regulations. 

Further, the regulator has asked for a summary of delayed or misrouted baggage cases, the systems used to trace and return luggage, and the compensation provided as per norms. It has also sought an evaluation of IndiGo’s communication performance —including SMS and email alerts — and measures to improve coordination between its operations control centre, airports and customer support teams. 

The airline must additionally explain its re-routing policy for passengers affected by cancellations, including adherence to the rule that alternate options should be provided at no extra cost, along with data on re-routing carried out within IndiGo’s network and on other carriers. 

To get ground level feedback, DGCA officers have been told to reach their assigned airports within two to three days and examine key operational and safety aspects. They will review the adequacy of airline and airport manpower, the scale of flight delays and cancellations, congestion inside terminals, and queue management at check-in, security and boarding. They will also check whether airline help desks are staffed round the clock and whether passengers are being informed promptly about delays, cancellations and alternate arrangements, the regulator stated. 

The inspections will also focus on passenger welfare and service quality. Officers will verify if special assistance is being provided to senior citizens, children, pregnant women and persons with reduced mobility. They will assess the availability of seating, the condition of basic amenities such as drinking water, the presence of senior airline management at airports, the cleanliness of terminal areas and the deployment of housekeeping staff. The status of pending baggage delivery and any backlog will also be reviewed.