Centre to slash Indigo's winter schedule following nationwide chaos, give slots to its rivals
PTC News Desk: Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said that the Centre will cut indigo's winter schedule and allott thos slots to its rival airlines in the wake of massive flights cancellation chaos.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) will hold a review meeting on Tuesday with senior officials from all airlines after widespread disruptions left passengers stranded across the country. The minister said that IndiGo has issued refunds of ₹745 crore for 7,30,655 cancelled bookings between December 1 and 8.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister Naidu said that the cancellation of hundreds of flights over the past week was caused by IndiGo’s “internal crisis” following the rollout of new passenger safety rules.
“We care about pilots, crew and passengers. We made our expectations clear to all airlines. IndiGo was responsible for managing its crew schedule. Passengers suffered greatly. We are taking this very seriously. We will take strict action and set an example. Any non-compliance will face consequences,” he said, adding that the government had launched a detailed inquiry.
The minister also said that India has room for more competitors in aviation and could support at least five major airlines. However, Opposition leaders were dissatisfied with his explanation and walked out. His remarks came after several days of chaos at airports nationwide, where cancellation of IndiGo flights disrupted weddings, vacations and work travel plans.
The crisis stemmed from new flight safety regulations announced almost two years ago, aimed at reducing pilot fatigue — a key cause of aviation accidents — by increasing mandatory rest time. To implement these rules, airlines needed to hire more pilots.
IndiGo, which operates about 2,200 flights daily and typically aims to keep aircraft and crew downtime minimal, did not have enough pilots once the rules took effect. This triggered mass flight cancellations. As the situation worsened, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation temporarily eased the new norms.
- With inputs from agencies
