IndiGo crisis: Parliamentary panel may summon DGCA, MoCA officials

Parliamentary panel will summon aviation regulators and major airlines to review recent flight cancellations and ongoing safety concerns, including ATC fatigue, pilot shortages and infrastructure gaps

A parliamentary panel is likely to summon top officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to discuss the recent crisis that has hit India’s civil aviation sector due to flight cancellations by the country’s largest airline IndiGo.

 

Sources aware of the matter said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, headed by Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Jha, is likely to meet on Wednesday.

 

The committee expects MoCA to ensure the attendance of the representatives of India’s private carriers, including those of IndiGo, at the meeting, they said.

   

The committee is expected to take up issues such as upgrading Air Traffic Controls (ATCs), paucity of pilots, flight duty time limitations (FDTL), and lack of competition in the aviation sector.

 

In its report tabled on August 20 in Parliament on the ‘overall review of safety in the aviation sector’, the committee had flagged some of the above issues in the context of the crash of the Air India 171 flight in June.

 

The report identified 12 key areas that required systemic improvement to ensure continued safety and sustainable growth of India's civil aviation sector.

 

Significantly, the committee recommended strengthening human factors and fatigue management for flight crew. It said there should be rigorous implementation and continuous evaluation of human factors initiatives.

 

“This includes ensuring strict compliance with updated FDTL regulations for pilots and promoting mental health awareness and support for both flight crews and ATCOs, as outlined in recent DGCA circulars,” the committee said in its report.

 

The committee also recommended a time-bound plan to grant the DGCA full administrative and financial autonomy. “This is imperative to address critical technical staff shortages caused by an ineffective recruitment model,” it said, adding that autonomy is essential for the regulator to attract talent, set industry-commensurate salaries, and effectively enforce compliance in a rapidly expanding sector.

 

The committee recommended mitigating ATC fatigue and staffing deficits by developing a national fatigue risk management system (FRMS) for Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) and a comprehensive staffing audit. This is to end the long-standing and high-risk practice of seeking exemptions from mandatory duty time limitations, it said.

 

“The current mismatch between recruitment and training capacity, coupled with operational overload, poses a direct and ongoing threat to airspace safety,” the committee observed.

 

It suggested strengthening surveillance and enforcement mechanisms, addressing recurring operational risks, making domestic maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities more competitive, and aligning infrastructure growth with fleet expansion. It observed that the current imbalance, where aircraft induction is outpacing airport growth (846 aircraft versus 162 functional airports as of June 2025), is putting unsustainable pressure on existing facilities, degrading service quality, and dangerously straining safety margins.

 

It recommended modernising ATC Automation and Airport Technology, the creation of a dedicated post of member (ATC) on the board of the AAI, and expanding pilot training infrastructure. “This is to ensure a sufficient and high-quality supply of qualified pilots for the rapidly expanding sector, supported by recent approvals for new flying training organisations, induction of training aircraft, and the development of a ranking framework for FTOs,” it said.