IndiGo crisis: The airline will reduce its winter flights, yet cancellations are still happening
IndiGo crisis: In reaction to IndiGo’s recent extensive operational failures, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said Monday that the government would cut down on the airline’s winter flying schedule and transfer some of its routes to other carriers. This occurs as the airline continues to struggle with the situation, canceling almost 500 flights across airports on Wednesday alone.
“We’ll reduce the number of IndiGo routes. At the moment, they are running 2,200 flights. Naidu said the Doordarshan news station, “We will definitely curtail them.”
According to the minister, as of 5 p.m., reimbursements of Rs 745 crore have been given for 7,30,655 canceled PNRs between December 1 and December 8. Of the 9,000 passenger bags that were delayed, he said, 6,000 had already arrived, and the remaining baggage were expected to arrive either Monday evening or Tuesday morning.
Following significant service interruptions, IndiGo, which has the biggest fleet and a 70% market share in India’s domestic aviation sector, came under close examination. After a long day of evaluating the airline’s performance, Naidu convened a thorough late-night assessment conference with top executives and all departments on Monday, December 8.
Today’s IndiGo flight status
IndiGo flights are now operating on time at the Mumbai airport. The counters have also stayed open once the online check-in launched. Passengers have been notified of the cancellation of a few prearranged flights, nevertheless.
Today’s IndiGo-DGCA review meeting
Deputy secretaries from the ministry will visit major airports throughout the nation on Tuesday to assess the situation at what the administration referred to as “ground zero” as part of the continuing inquiry into the issue. To evaluate the overall operational preparedness of the aviation industry, a more comprehensive evaluation encompassing all airlines has also been planned. Around 11 a.m., IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers will meet with government lawmakers and DGCA officials to discuss the airline’s recent setbacks.
The implications of reducing IndiGo’s winter flights
There are summer and winter timetables for the aviation industry. Because of its enormous fleet and market dominance, IndiGo was given a substantial number of flights for the current winter season. However, officials have determined that these extra routes are probably going to be cut following the last week’s interruptions. After Tuesday’s comprehensive examination including all agencies and operators, the newly available slots will thereafter be redistributed to other carriers.
On Monday, December 8, IndiGo replied to CEO Pieter Elbers’ DGCA show-cause notice. The airline responded by expressing its “sincere regret” for the widespread interruptions that occurred last week and characterizing the circumstance as a “unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence” of many operational issues. Although it expresses “deep regret” for the chaos, it also said that because of the magnitude and complexity of its operations, it is “realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” at this time.