Parliamentary Committee to Summon Top IndiGo Officials Amid Massive Flight Disruptions

New Delhi: As large scale flight disruptions rocked major airports across the country causing inconvenience to thousands of IndiGo passengers over the last few days, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture is slated to summon top management officials of IndiGo and other airlines, reports indicated. 

According to reports, the decision to summon major airlines was taken urgently in view of the IndiGo crisis that virtually crippled the country's aviation sector last week. The Committee headed by Sanjay Kumar Jha of the Janata Dal (United) summoned all airlines after several MPs wrote to the Chair, saying that the matter is of critical importance. Reports also indicated that members of the Committee also raised concern over the steep airline fares that were charged by most carriers during this period.

Sources mentioned that the Committee is now working on the modalities for the meeting.

IndiGo Served Show-Case Notice

The development to summon all the airlines by the parliamentary committee comes comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday issued a show‑cause notice to IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pieter Elbers, after flight disruption left thousands stranded at airports across the country. The civil aviation watchdog's action comes after a sudden shortage of pilots amid the rollout of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) led to a operational crisis for the country's largest airline.

IndiGo had to cancel more than a thousand flights last week as the airline struggled to align its crew schedules with the new pilot‑rest rules introduced on November 1.

The DGCA held the CEO responsible for the crisis, the show-cause notice mentioned. “As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airlines, but you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for the conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers,” it said.

The DGCA held a review meeting with IndiGo’s top officials on Saturday.  The regulator criticised the carrier’s planning failures and directed it to submit a comprehensive disruption‑management plan, boost passenger‑handling manpower and provide real‑time monitoring of its network to prevent further chaos.

High‑Level Inquiry Ordered

Civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu ordered a high‑level inquiry on the IndiGo flight crisis to determine accountability and to recommend measures to avoid any further crisis. The DGCA will also be monitoring IndiGo’s progress fortnightly, the minister said adding that the airline may face further regulatory action, including fines or operational restrictions, if it fails to comply.

Ticket Fares Capped

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Saturday also imposed a ceiling on airline ticket prices. This comes after airline fares skyrocketed on several routes amid IndiGo’s operational crisis. After this government's imposed price-cap, airlines are now prohibited from charging more than the stipulated maximum.

ALSO READ: 'Failed In Your Duty': DGCA Serves Show Cause Notice To IndiGo CEO Over Massive Flight Chaos