Page 3 - Indian Aviation

How hubris turned IndiGo's once-disciplined success model into chaos

IndiGo, which is operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, started out as a scrappy underdog in a sector where everyone else was backed by government, billionaires, or storied corporate group

India's new flight duty norms stricter than global standards: IATA chief

India, which has historically been a challenging market for airlines to succeed, has all the ingredients to become a fantastic market, and some of the issues being seen now are temporary, according to IATA chief Willie Walsh. With considerable growth potential and rising air traffic demand, Indian carriers are looking to expand capacity, and over 1,500 planes are on order. More airports are also coming up. Welcoming investments in airport infrastructure and by airlines in additional aircraft, Walsh said India's domestic market is now 32 per cent larger in 2025 than in 2020. "It (Indian domestic market) has increased by more than a third in terms of revenue passenger kilometres... That growth does not come without challenges... India has facilitated that growth, which has been a great example... It is one of the most exciting global markets," Walsh said. Against the backdrop of IndiGo flight disruptions and other challenges, the IATA chief said he sees some of the issues being faced

Air India initiates crew rostering, aircraft readiness for fog season

The northern parts of India, including Air India's primary hub, Delhi, experience low visibility due to dense fog, with the potential to have a cascading impact on flight schedules

Centre cuts IndiGo flight schedule by 10% to help stabilise operations

Civil Aviation ministry has directed IndiGo to reduce its flight schedule by 10 per cent to curb cancellations and restore stability as the airline faces probes, refunds pressure and compliance orders

IndiGo back on its feet; operations stable, says CEO Peter Elbers

Crisis-ridden IndiGo on Tuesday claimed that the airline is back on its feet and operations are stable, even as it keeps addressing all customer needs. In the latest video message, IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers also said that lakhs of customers, whose flights were cancelled or delayed, have already received their full refunds, and the process is ongoing on a daily basis. Elbers, however, remained tight-lipped on the compensation to customers, whose flights were cancelled at the last minute or were hugely delayed. As per the Civil Aviation Ministry's passenger charter, if an airline fails to inform a passenger of his/her flight cancellation at least two weeks before departure, compensation is legally mandatory, and its amount depends on the flight duration. Also, the airline has to provide compensation automatically, without passengers asking for it. "IndiGo is back on its feet, and our operations are stable. We've let you down when a major operational disruption happened, and we're sorr

Loco pilots push for FDTL-like rest rules as IndiGo crisis continues

A union for loco pilots has demanded norms similar to those for airline pilots, including capping duty hours at six hours for passenger trains and eight hours for goods trains

IndiGo crisis exposes risks of airline dominance and operational lapses

The contest for India's 1.4 billion consumers was turning into a fixed match, I had argued in May 2023

IndiGo gets 24 hrs for DGCA reply as refunds hit ₹610 cr: Top updates

After major nationwide disruptions, IndiGo now has to answer the DGCA by 6 pm on Monday; the airline says operations are improving and ₹610 crore in refunds have already been cleared

How IndiGo's pursuit of profit triggered a nationwide aviation meltdown?

While the company has pledged a full recovery by Dec 10, the debacle threatens IndiGo's position in the industry and its ambitious expansion plans

With 2 airlines in command, market concentration in aviation skyrockets

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) in the sector is up by 1800 points in the last decade to record high of 4500 in FY25

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

Parliamentary panel to summon airline execs, regulator over disruptions

A parliamentary panel is likely to summon top executives of private airlines and the civil aviation regulator over the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights that has left thousands of travellers stranded across the country's airports. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, is likely to seek an explanation from top executives of airlines and officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation about the cause of disruption in air services and possible solutions. A member 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, the panel member said. Several MPs also received complaints from people about air fares shooting up due to the ...

InterGlobe sets up crisis group to address IndiGo flight chaos, refunds

The board of Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, has set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG), which is meeting regularly to monitor the situation, the airline said in a statement on Sunday. 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. The statement came a day after the IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras received DCA notices, seeking explanations within 24 hours on the massive flight disruptions. Authorities will take appropriate action in the matter of the airline's flight disruptions, depending on the inquiry committee's findings, a senior government official said on Saturday. "The Board of Directors of Interglobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) met on the first day that the problem of cancellations and delayed flights arose. The members received a detailed briefing from the management on the nature and extent of the ...

Air India rolls out 'proactive' measures for passengers amid disruptions

To provide greater flexibility, they have introduced a special waiver of change or cancellation fees on eligible domestic bookings

India's pilot fatigue rules explained: Why FDTL is disrupting flight schedules

India's tighter FDTL pilot fatigue norms have triggered cancellations and delays, exposing crew shortages, roster stress and a fresh debate over safety, planning and preparedness

Anoushka Shankar expresses dismay at Air India's handling of her Sitar

Anoushka, who performs across multiple genres and styles, classical and contemporary, acoustic and electronic, last month picked up multiple Grammy nominations

Centre confirms GPS spoofing at Delhi, other major airports; orders probe

Days after Delhi airport reported GPS spoofing incidents, the Civil Aviation Ministry has confirmed similar signal interference at major airports nationwide and directed agencies to trace the source

Airlines complete software upgrades for 323 operational A320 family planes

Aviation regulator DGCA on Sunday said Indian carriers have completed the software upgrades on 323 operational A320 family planes to address a potential issue related to flight controls. On Friday, Airbus said intense solar radiation might corrupt data critical to flight controls in a significant number of A320 family aircraft and that the software changes required to fix the issue would lead to operational disruptions. A total of 338 A320 family aircraft with the three Indian airlines -- IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express -- were initially identified for the software upgrades to address the issue. Among them, 323 were operational, 6 were under base maintenance and later it was found that the upgrades were no needed for 9 such planes in the fleet of Air India, according to a senior DGCA official. IndiGo has completed the upgrades on all the 200 of its operational A320 family planes. Air India had 113 affected aircraft and out of them, the upgrades have been done for the ...

Ahmedabad-bound Air India flight returns to Delhi after false smoke alert

An Ahmedabad-bound Air India plane returned to the Delhi airport on Thursday evening due to suspected smoke in the cargo hold area, according to sources. After checks, the smoke indication was found to be false, the sources said. The Delhi-Ahmedabad flight AI2939, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, had around 170 people onboard, they added. An airline official said the aircraft returned to Delhi shortly after take off due to a smoke indication, which was later found to be false after the aircraft underwent thorough precautionary checks. Following standard operating procedures, the aircraft landed in Delhi and the passengers and crew were disembarked safely, the official said. Passengers were later flown to Ahmedabad in another aircraft.

Volcano ash cloud to clear India by 7.30 pm as it drifts toward China: IMD

Forecast models indicated ash influence over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said