New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said in the Rajya Sabha Monday, that the government is not taking the IndiGo flight cancellations lightly, pointing out that the airline’s internal operations planning and its crew rostering system were at fault.
“Passengers faced a lot of difficulties. We are not taking the situation easily. We are doing an inquiry, and we will take very, very strict action. We will set an example for all the airlines. If there is any non-compliance, or non-adherence by any entity or any organisation or any operation functioning in the civil aviation industry, we will take very strict action,” said Naidu.
He further explained that the new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) guidelines came into effect on 1 November, after “thorough consultation with all stakeholders”, including IndiGo. The guidelines include stricter rules on overnight flights for pilots and their weekly rest, which led to multiple flight cancellations last week.
“We care for the crew, we care for the pilots, and we care for the safety of the entire system; we care for the passengers. As the ministry, we made it very clear to all the airlines that they have to follow the rules,” he said.
“In multiple stakeholder consultations on FDTL, we have been very, very strict that there has to be no compromise on safety. Safety is the topmost priority.”
Naidu added that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had held meetings with all the airlines and had given variations and exemptions to different airlines. He asserted that airlines operated smoothly for the entire month of November under the new guidelines.
“IndiGo was supposed to manage the crew and roster through its day-to-day operations. We are there to check if the FDTL has been implemented properly, and there has been no compromise on that,” he said.
Also Read: Indigo crisis is a management failure. Don’t blame the pilots
‘Time to start an airline in India’
On a supplementary question by Shiv Sena MP Milind Murli Deora, Naidu spoke on the need to have more domestic airlines as part of the Indian aviation industry.
“India today has the capacity to have five big airlines. That has been the effort from the Ministry to encourage more airlines to come in,” he said, listing down smaller airlines that the Ministry has encouraged in the last 5-6 years.
“This is the time to start an airline in India,” he announced.
The minister also responded to questions on the recent disruptions of the air traffic operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport due to a technical failure in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS).
“For all passengers who have faced difficulties due to delays and cancellations, strict Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) are in place. All the airline operators which have permission to operate in the country have to strictly follow these. Passengers’ rights and benefits extended through CAR have to be provided,” he said, pointing out that the aviation sector has grown multifold, with 5 lakh people travelling every day. However, he clarified that the IndiGo cancellations were not concerned with AMSS failure.
The IndiGo flight cancellations and disruptions that started last week have left thousands of passengers stranded at airports throughout the country. The airline set up a Crisis Management Group, which had its first meeting on 4 December; the group aims to expedite refunds and return of baggage.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)
Also Read: How to prevent the next IndiGo crisis—compulsory resource mapping, DGCA overhaul