IndiGo Flight Crisis Nears Resolution: Aviation Minister Confirms Penalties Will Follow Investigation

IndiGo's operational meltdown is "on the verge of getting resolved", and action against the airline is a question of when, not if, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has stated.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Friday, during which IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers confirmed over 1,000 flight cancellations, the minister emphasized that all other airlines have operated without issues despite the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms implemented in November. This clearly indicates, according to Naidu, that the "fault" lies with IndiGo specifically.

When asked about when passengers could expect improvement, Naidu responded optimistically: "I can say it is on the verge of getting resolved. The major congestion has happened in the metro airports... and we are seeing all the metro airports, most of them - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai - they have been cleared right now of all the backlog of passengers that was there for the past two days. The other ones will also be finished by tonight. And Indigo is going to start operations with limited capacity again from tomorrow."

He further assured that "as the operations settle down, they are going to increase the capacity. But in terms of passengers not facing a problem, you will see that happening from tomorrow. And the full capacity of IndiGo operations getting back will probably take a couple of more days."

Addressing questions about whether the ministry and aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) should have anticipated these problems, Naidu firmly rejected this notion.

He explained that the new FDTL regulations, designed to ensure adequate rest for pilots and cabin crew, came into effect on November 1, and both the ministry and regulator had maintained continuous communication with airlines. He also noted that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had mandated updates for Airbus A320s last week, which were completed for 323 aircraft in a brief timeframe without causing disruptions.

"We have been thoroughly monitoring, we have been discussing with the airlines, and we have given them multiple forums to tell us if such a situation is developing. So, that is why we have set up a committee today to inquire into this (the IndiGo disruptions), find the people at fault, and we are going to take action against them. It is being said FDTL guidelines was the major reason, but other airlines have also had to follow (the norms), and they have no issue," the minister stated.

'Fault Is At IndiGo'

"Whatever issue we are talking about is related to Indigo Airlines. So the fault is at Indigo, not at the major level, the ministry level or some other level. If there was some problem regarding the FDTL or something from the ministry, all the airlines should have faced issues, but that is not the case here," he asserted confidently.

When questioned about potential penalties or actions against IndiGo, Naidu was unequivocal: "It's not could be, it will be. There will be action on them, because this is not something which we want to entertain. We are very clear that the focus of the ministry is the passenger... It is our job, our responsibility, to ensure that these kinds of incidents don't happen next time. So, we are very, very clear that action is going to follow the inquiry."