IndiGo's senior expat official said to face action over operational meltdown

As the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) formed a panel of eight flight operations inspectors (FOIs) to oversee IndiGo operations till the same stabilise, the FOIs are learnt to have identified certain chinks in the airline’s armour, as reported by the Times of India. As per an exclusive report, IndiGo's expat top management personnel (not CEO) is under the scan and authorities are likely to take regulatory action against him.

During the investigation, the operations control centre (OCC) has been found to be a weak link. After the huge turmoil, the airline is giving out two-day rosters to pilots. This implies that a pilot knows the flights he/she is supposed to fly next two days only.

Also read: Indigo Flight Status December 15: Check full list of flights cancelled from major airports today


"This two-day roster will continue till the collapsed OCC system is revived. The task has got tougher with low visibility setting in. Now it is not about finding pilots to operate flights but also ensuring pilots trained for low visibility operations are rostered for the early morning and late night flights in airports that will see fog, like Delhi, Amritsar and Lucknow," people in the know told TOI.

Indian aviation watchdog recently terminated four officials (FOIs) for allegedly not being able to prevent IndiGo’s fiasco, making colleagues upset.

“FOIs feel they have been made the scapegoats. Some of them now want to quit their positions,” sources told TOI.

As DGCA continued to tackle the IndiGo crisis, the authority was hit by more hardships with low visibility across North India. “It was better to have the flights cancelled so that passengers know in advance,” sources said.

Also read: Delhi Weather: 40 flights cancelled from Delhi Airport amid dense fog in national capital, 4 diverted

Hindon Airport flights cut

As most of the North Indian airports faced flight disruptions on Monday, flights to and from Hindon Airport had been slashed by half this winter.

The airport, recently converted for civil operations, used to handle 25 arrivals and as many departures in summer under IAF enclave. The number has now dropped to 12 arrivals and as many departures.

“Hindon has certain restrictions for commercial flights like the operations are from sunrise to sunset and there are two parking bays for them. The reduced visibility has made the operation window even shorter. IndiGo has cancelled two flights,” an airport official told TOI.

Also read: Delhi weather update: IndiGo, Air India warn of possible flight delays as fog hits visibility

As Air India is planning to ramp up operations, Akasa Air has also asked the government how long will IndiGo capacity cuts continue. The young airline is seeking information to make a key decision on operating some extra flights in the second half of January by when the 31st aircraft it has inducted in its fleet will start flying.

The aviation ministry is expected to finalise the IndiGo cuts and duration of the same early this week. Air India has recently offered to explore operating 275 extra flights this month.

“IndiGo flight cut void can at best be filled partially and that too temporarily. AI, AI Express & Akasa resources are nearly fully deployed. AI may have 275 additional flights this month. The best thing will be to have IndiGo back on its feet as soon as possible,” an official said.

(With inputs from TOI)