indigo crisis
IndiGo Crisis: If you had planned air travel or looked at social media in the last few days, then the chaos at airports would not have been hidden from you. Long queues of passengers at check-in counters, angry people shouting and the helplessness of not getting information about their own flights had become common. The country’s largest airline indigo (IndiGo), which has about 66% market share, is facing a big crisis but now the government has taken a tough stance in this matter and has made it clear that the problems of passengers will not be tolerated at any cost.
Government said arbitrariness will not work
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has given a clear and strong message in Parliament. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, he warned that no airline, no matter its size, would be allowed to create problems for passengers through poor planning or ignoring rules. The minister said that accountability is being fixed after the recent crisis of IndiGo.
In view of the seriousness of the matter, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to the top leadership of IndiGo. The government has promised to ensure that strictest action is taken under aviation rules, so that an example can be set for the entire sector. This step shows that the government is now emphasizing on the policy of ‘Passenger First’.
Where did the mistake happen?
How severe this crisis was can be gauged from the figures. Last week, about 3,000 Indigo flights had to be cancelled. The situation became so bad that more than 1,000 flights were canceled on Friday alone, which is almost half of IndiGo’s normal daily flights. Many such videos went viral on social media where passengers were seen struggling with the staff to ask for updates or to get their check-in baggage back.
Also read: What will happen to IndiGo, Rs 37000 crore spent in 6 days!
DGCA has also held IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers directly responsible. The regulator says the CEO has “failed” to ensure reliable operations and necessary facilities for passengers. Indigo has been given 15 days to respond to the notice. The airline has said that it will submit its reply after conducting a complete ‘root-cause analysis’.
Crisis created due to shortage of pilots
The root of this entire crisis is believed to be the shortage of pilots and new rules related to their comfort. New guidelines regarding duty and rest period of pilots came into effect from November 1, after which there was a disturbance in the roster system of the airline. However, Minister Naidu says that Indigo had enough time to prepare.
To stabilize the situation, DGCA has ordered IndiGo to reduce its planned flights by 5% and has asked it to submit a new schedule by Wednesday. On the other hand, financial institutions like Moody’s Ratings and Jefferies have warned that IndiGo may have to suffer huge financial losses due to flight cancellations, refunds and possible fines. Besides, this has also hurt the reputation of the brand.
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