Disruptions were not deliberate: IndiGo Chairman

IndiGo's board has been closely engaged with the airline's management over pilot rest-hour regulations, chairman Vikram Singh Mehta said on Wednesday, rejecting allegations that the carrier orchestrated recent flight cancellations to pressure the government into easing the rules.

"The disruptions of last week did not happen because of any deliberate action. They happened because of a combination of internal and unanticipated external events, including minor technical glitches, scheduled changes and implementation of the updated crew rostering rules," Mehta said in a video statement. "This is not an excuse. This is simply the truth."

He said the board has decided to involve an external technical expert to work with the management, determine the root causes and ensure corrective action so that a disruption of this magnitude "never occurs again."


Directors have faced severe criticism after a meltdown in operations forced the airline to cancel more than 5,000 flights last week. The issue stemmed from the airline's inability to hire adequate pilots to comply with new rest rules, which among other changes, cap the number of landings allowed between 12 am and 6 am.