Why did the Indigo flight crisis erupt? In its reply to DGCA, the airline cited technical glitches, weather, system congestion and new FDTL rules as the reasons, but the real root cause analysis is yet to be done. Is this just an operational failure or a major lapse in internal planning?
New Delhi. India’s largest airline IndiGo has been grappling with massive flight cancellations, delays, congestion and operational glitches for the past week. Thousands of passengers were stranded, even baggage was not found and there was chaos at the airports. Now DGCA served a show cause notice to the airline, to which IndiGo sent its reply on Monday. Indigo clearly said that the situation deteriorated due to not just one but many reasons. The airline also apologized to the passengers. After all, what is the root of such a big problem? Are the new FDTL rules alone to blame, or is the matter more complicated than that?
What happened in Indigo flights? How did such a big problem arise suddenly?
IndiGo, in its reply to DGCA, said that there were many reasons behind the major crisis of flight cancellations and delays seen last week. The airline claims that it has still not been able to conduct a “correct and detailed root cause analysis” on all aspects, as the entire operation is very large and complex. The 5 main reasons attributed by Indigo are as follows:
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1. Did a 15-minute technical glitch lead to a delay of hours?
The airline said that there were “minor technical issues” on several flights, but can these small glitches really be so costly? Industry experts say that when flight schedules are tight, even a small mistake can spoil the entire chain.
2. Did the winter schedule upset Indigo’s entire balance?
Indigo claims that a lot of adjustments had to be made as soon as the new winter schedule started. Due to reduced visibility in winter, taxi-time, runway waiting and operations become slower than before. But this also begs the question, “Can India’s largest airline be so unprepared for the winter schedule?”
3. Did the impact of the weather outweigh the other problems?
The weather was bad, there was fog, the runways were slow. IndiGo says that the weather increased the delays and cancellations manifold. But can thousands of flights be canceled just because of weather?
4. Has congestion throughout the aviation system reached its peak?
The airline says the airport, runway, taxiway and ATC were all under extreme pressure. Record travel demand is being seen in the last few months. But why did IndiGo’s problems appear many times more than other airlines? Did operational planning weaken?
5. Did the new FDTL Phase-II rules prove to be a real ‘game-changer’?
The biggest reason cited by IndiGo was that the new FDTL Phase-II crew duty rules proved fatal. Under which it is necessary to give more rest to the pilots and their duties have been limited. Indigo delayed adjusting to this and the result was a huge shortage of flights. The situation was so bad on December 5 that two-thirds of the 2,300 flights had to be cancelled. This is one of the biggest operational failures in India’s aviation history.
Was Indigo really not ready? Why are DGCA and government so strict?
The government has clearly said that “strict action” will be taken so that it sets an example for other airlines. DGCA has already constituted a four-member inquiry panel.
What happened in the last 6 days? How big was the crisis?
- More than 1000 flights canceled daily
- The airline could fly only 600-700 flights instead of 2300.
- Passengers received 4500 bags late out of 9000.
- Thousands of passengers stood in queues for hours at airports
- The situation improved a bit on Monday and IndiGo operated 1800 flights, but hundreds of flights were still cancelled.
- On Sunday this figure was around 1650.
- The airline says that operations are now gradually becoming normal.