DGCA questions IndiGo over flight cancellations in November

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday questioned airline IndiGo over its drop in performance in November and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation as well as the plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

Citing recent operational performance information provided by IndiGo, DGCA said a total of 1,232 flights were cancelled in November, including 755 flights due to crew and FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) constraints.

As many as 258 flights were cancelled due to “airport/airspace restrictions”, 92 flights were cancelled due to the ATC (Air Traffic Control) system failure and 127 flights on account of other reasons, the statement said.

In a statement, the DGCA said it is currently investigating the situation and evaluating measures along with the airline, to reduce cancellations and delays, in order to minimise inconvenience being caused to passengers.

“IndiGo has been asked to report to DGCA, Headquarters, to present the facts leading to the current situation along with plans to mitigate the ongoing delays & cancellations,” it said.

“A large share of cancellations arose from crew/FDTL compliance and airport/airspace/ATC-related factors, many of which lie beyond the operator’s direct control,” DGCA said, and mentioned that the airline’s overall On Time Performance in November was 67.7 per cent compared to 84.1 per cent in October.

While 16 per cent of the delays were due to ATC, 6 per cent were caused by “operations-crew”, three per cent due to airport facility issues and eight per cent as a result of other factors, as per the statement.

According to the regulator, it had provided further clarification to IndiGo for streamlining the implementation of the revised FDTL norms.

The corrective measures proposed were strengthening crew planning and rostering while adhering to FDTL norms, enhancing coordination with ATC and airports to manage capacity constraints and improving turnaround and disruption-management processes.

While the first phase of these FDTL norms came into force from July, the second phase, which restricted the night landing to two from six earlier, was implemented from November 1.

The norms were originally to be put in place from March 2024, but airlines, including IndiGo, sought a step-by-step implementation, citing additional crew requirements.