DGCA, get a grip, clear the air

The civil aviation ministry must follow up on its exemption to IndiGo on pilot rostering regulations with strict enforcement once the airline restores normal operations. Aviation safety protocols are independent of market structure, and the inability of India's dominant airline to make the switch within the stipulated period is an instance of management failure. The ministry has acted on predatory pricing following IndiGo's mass flight cancellations, but the situation could have been contained well before the crisis with effective oversight. Changes in rules require follow-up action to ensure these are implemented. The audit of IndiGo's operations that the ministry is seeking now would have averted widespread passenger hardship in the run-up to the new rostering deadline.

That other Indian airlines have successfully made the transition does not make the case for satisfactory implementation any stronger when the country's most complex airline operation failed to do so. IndiGo has put in place a crisis management team that should be in continuous communication with GoI over its resolution. The dialogue should continue until the new safety procedures are in place at IndiGo. Rostering requirements are international, and there should be a wealth of information available on how airlines of IndiGo's scale have managed to implement them overseas.

GoI does not need to defend itself over market concentration in Indian aviation. It extended a lifeline to the industry during the pandemic and followed it up with privatisation of Air India. Indian airlines are better capitalised than they were a decade ago, and GoI expects them to build enough muscle to take on West Asian carriers. This can only happen when the safety and operational metrics of Indian airlines match international yardsticks. And it must coincide with ambitious fleet expansion plans that involve more complex operations. Regulation of aviation would benefit from a handholding approach that preempts crises rather than reacts to consumer stress.