4 flight operations officers suspended; The CEO of the airline was asked to appear before the DGCA. india news

IndiGo flight status live updates: Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday suspended four flight operations inspectors (FIOs) over mass cancellation of IndiGo flights, which left thousands of passengers stranded at airports. These officers are responsible for airline safety, pilot training and operational compliance.

His suspension comes ahead of IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers’ expected appearance before the aviation regulator today. Read more.

IndiGo flight status live updates: After a tough week of widespread flight disruptions due to IndiGo operational crisis, normalcy has finally resumed at Chandigarh International Airport. Airport officials, addressing a press conference on Thursday, confirmed that flight operations have largely stabilized, with only four of IndiGo’s 29 scheduled flights canceled throughout the day (notably to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi). Authorities have officially declared the situation “now normal”. Read more.

IndiGo flight status live updates: Aviation regulator DGCA on Friday suspended four flight operations inspectors in connection with IndiGo flight disruption.

Flight operations inspectors (FOIs) oversee airline safety, pilot training, and operational compliance.

IndiGo flight status live updates: As IndiGo grapples with rampant delays and cancellations, a LinkedIn post highlighting the remarkable restraint of one of its ground staff members is going viral online.

Prateek Malpani wrote on LinkedIn that his 7 pm flight to Delhi was delayed by almost 10 hours and finally took off at 5 am the next morning. Amidst the chaos, long queues and rising anger, he noticed that a young IndiGo staff member was silently bearing the wrath of the upset passengers. After two hours at the counter, they told him not to take the hostility personally. Her answer stunned him, he said.

“Sir, maine to aapne aapse karni kiya hai – bade daunte rahe ho to samphenge maa-baap daunt rahe hain, chhote dantenge to samphenge bhai-bahan se laud rahi hai. Aur kya kar sakte hain (Sir, I have trained myself. If the elders scold me, I take it as a parent’s scolding. If the younger ones yell at me, I take it as a fight with the siblings. What else can we do?) Read more.

IndiGo flight status live updates: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday took cognizance of the ongoing disruptions in IndiGo flights, and sought answers from the Center as to how a crisis of this level emerged for the first time. In the last nine days, Indigo Airlines has canceled more than 4600 flights, leaving passengers stranded.

While hearing the case in the High Court, Delhi HC reprimanded the Center and asked who would be responsible for such a crisis.

The court said, “The situation prevailing last week has given rise to concern. Due to the disruption, passengers are facing continuous inconvenience. Due to such disruption there has also been an unreasonable increase in the fares charged by other airlines.”

IndiGo flight status live updates: The government is probing how IndiGo’s international operations remained relatively unaffected while its domestic network collapsed in the first week of December as the airline failed to follow new crew rostering rules aimed at reducing pilot fatigue and improving safety, officials aware of the matter said.

Between December 1 and 9, IndiGo canceled 4,290 domestic flights, while it canceled only 64 international flights, according to data submitted by the airline to the government, reviewed by HT. Read more.

IndiGo flight status live updates: The four-member DGCA-constituted comprises Joint Director General Sanjay Brahman, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik and FOI Lokesh Rampal.

With IndiGo commanding over 65 per cent of India’s domestic market, the chaos had a nationwide impact, taking its position to the worst, with airports under heavy pressure and rival carriers unable to absorb the surge of displaced passengers.

On December 2 – the day the mass cancellations began – data showed that IndiGo saw the sharpest decline on time, at 35 per cent, while Air India, Akasa and Air India Express recorded 67 per cent, 73 per cent and 79 per cent respectively, HT had earlier reported.

Angry crowds and piles of unclaimed luggage were seen at the terminals. Regulators stepped in with fare caps and advisories, while IndiGo launched fee waivers, refunds and a phased reinstatement plan. In a near-monopoly market where IndiGo and Air India control 91 per cent share, recovery is expected to take time.

Despite widespread disruptions, other airlines were not as severely affected as IndiGo, as the carrier operates the country’s largest network with the highest number of flights, making it more vulnerable to widespread delays. Read more.

IndiGo flight status live updates: IndiGo said in a regulatory filing that its CEO Peter Elbers has been asked to appear before the committee of officers at the DGCA on December 12, which is probing the matter related to the flight disruption.

Stepping up surveillance, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) officials on Thursday started monitoring IndiGo’s operations, refunds and other processes from the airline’s headquarters, the report quoted sources as saying.

He said officials are expected to submit daily reports on the situation at the airline, which is grappling with significant operational disruptions and thousands of flights canceled due to planning failures related to the implementation of the new pilot and crew duty norms.

(With inputs from PTI)

IndiGo flight status live updates: The central government on Thursday appeared to toughen its stance against crisis-hit airline IndiGo as Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu blamed the airline’s “gross mismanagement” and issues with the crew rostering system for the scheduling slowdown that affected lakhs of passengers this month. Read more.