Passengers slam IndiGo, DGCA

IndiGo’s nationwide operational crisis deepened on Thursday, as fresh flight cancellations and long delays were reported from different cities of the country, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at various airports and the affected air travellers slammed the private airliner, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

On a day when fresh flight cancellations and long delays were reported from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, an upset DGCA summoned senior officials of IndiGo to is headquarters and sought explanation from them on the “massive disruptions” and asked them to submit an urgent plan to stabilise operations during the peak travel season.

The miffed stranded passengers took to social media platforms to vent their anger against the delays and disruptions of IndiGo flights across the country.

Tech influencer Arun Prabhudesai, the founder of Armoks Media, said, “IndiGo is in a terrible state right now. Flights are getting cancelled one after another, chaos at the gates, passengers arguing with crew, zero communication. My own flight has been delayed with no clarity, we’ve been at the airport for 2 hours just waiting for any update. If you’re flying today, honestly, don’t come to the airport unless you really have to. It’s a mess”. “Indigo Airlines operations have been badly hit, leading to massive passenger distress. I have repeatedly raised concerns over the duopoly that prevails in the air, which leads to higher air fares, poor infrastructure, flight cancellations. It’s a shame and I hope the aviation minister will give a suo moto statement on this issue in the Parliament,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said.

“IndiGo has made Pune Airport look like a railway station today, too much chaos,” Content strategist Rishikesh Taksale said.

AI and data science leader Dr Prashant Pansare, the founder of Rubiscape. Com said: “IndiGo flight mess up at the Pune airport. No passenger intimation at the boarding gate, no staff, citizen self-service and the worst is on display boards which say flight scheduled on time.”

 “Do not fly IndiGo. Passengers are being left stranded for hours — even overnight — with zero information or support. The airline’s disregard for people is unacceptable, and it’s shameful that they face no accountability,” an angry flier with handle @mmk6664 wrote.

Prathamesh Thanekar wrote: “Indigo flight 6E1607 (Mumbai - Chennai - Bali) has been delayed almost 6+hrs. Also, there is no correct information given at the information desk. This has caused huge inconvenience. It's 5 PM, still information board still shows time at 4 AM”.

Technocrat Harry wrote: “Absolute chaos at Pune Airport and almost every other flight is getting cancelled. IndiGo, why are you still checking in people when you know you’d cancel? Can you save some agony for passengers and let them figure out something else early?” Independent MLA from Maharashtra Satyajeet Tambe said: “IndiGo’s repeated failures have stranded families, students and professionals across the country. Regulators must step in with stronger safeguards for passengers”.

Attributing the unprecedented disruptions in the IndiGo flight operations to the crew shortage and operational planning “failures”, Federation of Indian Pilots’ president Captain CS Randhawa said: “Most of these flight disruptions, cancellations and delays have been attributable to, firstly, the crew shortage. IndiGo has been inducting aircraft. It must be appreciated that when you induct an aircraft, you must have an adequate number of crews per aircraft.

Another reason being attributed to the Indigo crisis to the implementation of the second phase of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms from November 1, which tightened rest and night-duty rules for pilots. Alluding to the revised duty norms, Randhawa said: “After the second phase of the FDTL, new CARs came into effect by the order of the Delhi High Court on 1st of November. They immediately approached the DGCA and sought a variation.”

The second phase of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms, being implemented from November 1, have tightened rest and night-duty rules for pilots. These changes have reduced crew availability at short notice. The airline has also cited multiple compounding factors.

Meanwhile, Prakash Ambedkar, former MP and the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, said: “IndiGo’s operational disruptions, including lengthy flight delays, cancellations, absolutely zero transparency, and extremely poor customer service experiences, should be an eye-opener for the Government and the fliers. This is a wake-up call for the Government”.

“The ongoing crisis has exposed DGCA’s terribly weak regulation, poor accountability of the airlines and lack of passenger protection. IndiGo’s market dominance has become market abuse! 

The present regulatory rules are not structured to provide a safe blanket to the fliers,” Prakash said. Calling for a Passenger Protection Code similar to the European Union and the United States, Ambedkar said: “India needs a Passenger Protection Code similar to the EU and US, where delays mean automatic compensation, not just a meal voucher! Why passengers have to beg the airlines for a booking on the next available flight, financial compensation and timely information”.