Page 3 - Aviation Industry

DGCA panel probing IndiGo disruptions may summon CEO, COO on Wednesday

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation-appointed panel investigating the flight disruptions at IndiGo is likely to summon the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras on Wednesday as part of the ongoing probe, according to a source on Monday. The four-member panel, comprising Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, has been tasked with identifying the root causes of widespread operational disruptions. Its mandate includes assessing manpower planning, fluctuating rostering systems, and the airline's preparedness to implement the latest duty period and rest norms for pilots. The panel, announced by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Faiz Ahmed Kidwai on December 5, will also review the extent of compliance with the revised FDTL provisions, including analysis of gaps admitted by the airline and ascertain the accountability and responsibility for ...

SC declines to intervene in IndiGo cancellations, cites govt action

The cancellations, which began on December 2, have drawn criticism from passengers and government authorities

Flight cancellations credit negative, to hit IndiGo financially: Moody's

The widespread disruptions in IndiGo flights, resulting from the airline's failure to plan for aviation regulations communicated to industry more than a year in advance, could result in financial damage from loss of revenue as well as potential penalties for cancellations, Moody's Ratings said on Monday. In a note, Moody's said the disruptions are "credit negative" for the airline. "Despite temporary reprieve, failure to effectively plan for new aviation regulations is credit negative." The disruptions, which coincided with peak winter schedules, resulted in over 1,600 flight cancellations on December 5, after similar operational issues in November left more than 1,200 flights grounded. Flights cancellations started on December 2 and the airline is yet to restore normalcy. More than 500 flights were cancelled on Monday. "The disruptions are credit negative because IndiGo could face significant financial damage from loss of revenue because of flight cancellations, refunds and other .

A near one-horse race in domestic skies as IndiGo holds 65.6% share

Globally normal? Not quite. From the US to China and Brazil, no single carrier enjoys the scale IndiGo commands at home

Why Delhi and Mumbai airport operators seek to charge passengers more

That quick bit of shopping you did at the international airport in Delhi or Mumbai could prove costly in the future. Here's why

Still far from normalcy: IndiGo board steps in, forms crisis mgmt group

Board-led team includes chairman, ex-FAA chief, Amitabh Kant; ₹610 cr in refunds processed as airline eyes Dec 10 stability

Indigo crisis exposes operational gaps as punctuality plunges to record low

Indigo's mass cancellations and delays pushed punctuality to just 3.7% early December, with passenger grievances peaking and experts linking the crisis to crew roster implementation issues

DGCA panel to review disruptions as IndiGo says 95% connectivity restored

According to airport data accessed on Saturday, several major hubs reported significant cancellations by IndiGo. Hyderabad Airport recorded 69 planned cancellations

Operated 700 flights on Friday: IndiGo; points at 1,600 cancellations

Domestic carrier IndiGo on Saturday said it operated only 700 flights on Friday against its usual number of 2,300, suggesting 1,600 cancellations during the day. The airline had said it had cancelled "over 1,000 flights" on Friday, when IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers, after maintaining a stoic silence on the crisis for three days, finally acknowledged that it was cancelling flights in big numbers. Besides cancelling a record number of flights in a day by any Indian carrier in the country's aviation history, IndiGo's on-time performance hit rock bottom at 3.7 per cent on Friday, triggered by disruption in operations amid the transition to the second phase of new flight duty and rest period norms for pilots, as per the Civil Aviation Ministry website. The second phase of these norms, which came into force from November 1 and consist of change in night definition to 12am-6pm from 12 am-5 pm earlier, and restricting number of night landings to two from six earlier, applies to all domestic ...

Nearly 35 IndiGo flights cancelled at Ahmedabad airport as chaos continues

As many as 35 flights of IndiGo scheduled for departure from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad were cancelled on Saturday, escalating the woes of stranded passengers hit by the double whammy of travel uncertainty and alleged lack of basic facilities. Similar scenes were witnessed at the Vadodara airport, where three flights scheduled for departure were cancelled by IndiGo Airlines, which has been struggling to restore flight operations that had been in disarray for the last five days. In a partial relief for passengers travelling from the Rajkot airport, only one IndiGo flight -- for Mumbai -- was cancelled, while seven flights for Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad and Bengaluru operated, officials said. An Ahmedabad Airport official stated that a total of 72 6E flights of IndiGo Airlines, scheduled for arrival and departure between 12:01 am and 11:59 pm, were cancelled on Saturday, including 35 departure and 37 arrival flights. Six flights, including thre

Govt grounds new pilot rest rules for 2 months as IndiGo crisis deepens

India suspends new pilot duty-time rules to stabilise IndiGo after massive cancellations, as government launches inquiry and expects normal operations within 3 days

Govt launches high-level inquiry into flight disruptions after IndiGo chaos

After IndiGo cancellations disrupted travel for thousands, the government has set up a four-member DGCA-led panel to fix accountability and recommend safeguards for passengers

IndiGo admits to gaps as 200 more flights cancelled in ongoing disruptions

200 more flights cancelled on Thursday; chaos at airports across India

IndiGo chaos exposes deep cracks in aviation's pilot planning playbook

It is easy to see that these rules require airlines to accelerate their pilot and crew hiring programmes. In fact, the FDTL norms are not the only compulsion to do so

Nearly 54% IndiGo flyers complain about timeliness, staff behaviour: Survey

A LocalCircles survey of IndiGo flyers, conducted against backdrop of social media complaints about service standards, highlights punctuality and staff behaviour as biggest pain points for passengers

Air turbulence: IndiGo cancels 300 flights in 2 days as new FDTL rules bite

Airline's on-time performance drops to 35%; DGCA's stricter rest norms disrupt operations nationwide

13 Indigo flights cancelled from Hyderabad, passengers frustrated

A chaotic situation unfolded at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here after Indigo airlines cancelled 13 flights to various destinations, including Delhi and Bangalore from here, airport sources said. The airport, however, maintained that some IndiGo flights have been impacted due to airline-related technology and operational issues, resulting in delays and cancellations. Similarly, the airline also cancelled 18 incoming flights from various destinations, the sources said. Nine flights were cancelled on Tuesday alone. Deeply unfortunate to see #Ayyappadevotees forced to protest at Hyderabad Airport after @IndiGo6E failed to address hours-long delays. Passengers deserve clarity, and responsible service. Hope the authorities take immediate action, a netizen said in a post on X tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Ram Mohan Naidu. Social media was flooded with videos showing frustrated passengers arguing with airline staff over the ...

Over 90% of Air India A320 fleet reset, operations continue smoothly

The airline added that its engineering and ground teams worked round the clock to ensure there were no cancellations and minimal impact on flight schedules

Global flights in chaos as top-selling Airbus A320 planes hit by recall

Airlines rushed to implement the updates for affected A320 jetliners, grounding flights and upending plans for thousands of travellers, in a rare global recall of Airbus's top-selling je

Navi Mumbai airport to start commercial operations from December 25

NMIA will begin with limited operations, expand in February, and ease the load on Mumbai's main airport