Govt-appointed panel found multiple violations of aviation regulations & deficiencies in airline’s operational planning, crew management and oversight mechanisms.
The IndiGo crisis is nothing short of a threat to India’s stability. Could it be an experiment? Can this happen in any other crucial sector like power or railways?
Indian Pilots Guild alleged DGCA granted FDTL timeline extensions, approved airline-specific proposals that went against court orders. It filed contempt plea against DGCA chief.
The crisis also puts DGCA’s vacancies in the eye of the storm. Naidu told the Rajya Sabha in July this year that 190 out of 410 DGCA vacancies would be filled this year.
Don’t blame misfortune. This is colossal incompetence and insensitivity. So bad, heads would have rolled even in the old PSU-era Indian Airlines and Air India.
HC also questioned IndiGo’s non-compliance with rest norms. 'If a pilot is supposed to do 2 landings in a night and he is doing 6, he is compromising on people’s safety,' bench said.
The IndiGo crisis shows it's time to empower the DGCA as an independent statutorily approved regulator and not just as an attached office of the civil aviation ministry.
Apart from questioning IndiGo, this is the moment to ask why policy and regulation allowed one business model to hold regulators, passengers and the exchequer hostage.
In 2022, athletes claimed they were asked to wind up training early at Thyagraj Stadium so that the IAS couple could walk their dog. Then came the memes and public outrage.
Instead of buying more Mirages outright in early 2000s, the requirement was tweaked in favour of a medium-weight, multi-role fighter with Mirage-like performance.
Pakistan not only has zero chance of catching up with India in most areas, but will inevitably see the gap rising. Its leaders will offer its people the same snake oil in different bottles.
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