Centre orders IndiGo to cut operations by 10 per cent amid cancellations, delays

The Centre has ordered crisis-hit IndiGo to curtail its overall operations by 10 per cent while continuing to serve all destinations, in an effort to stabilise the situation amid ongoing disruptions and flight cancellations, Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Tuesday.

The Aviation Ministry summoned IndiGo’s top management, including CEO Pieter Elbers, to review the measures taken by the airline to stabilise its operations.

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During the meeting, the IndiGo CEO confirmed that 100 per cent of the refunds for flights affected till December 6 have been completed.

The ministry, Naidu said, has given strict instructions to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover.

He said the ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilizing the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations.

“A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before,” he said.

The airline has also been instructed to comply with all the directives of the Aviation Ministry, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures, without any exception.

Joint Secretary conducts surprise inspection of IndiGo’s operations in Mumbai

Meanwhile, Madhu Sudan Shankar, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, today conducted a surprise inspection of IndiGo’s operations at Mumbai airport.

Speaking to reporters after the inspection, the Joint Secretary said that things are under control.

“We discussed with all the stakeholders, especially the airport operators, ATC control managers…Major affected sectors from the flight delays domestically are Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa, and Lucknow,” he said.

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Shankar further noted “a lot of improvements” in IndiGo’s operations, stating that passengers are now being informed about cancellations and delays six hours prior to their flights so that they don’t proceed to the airports.

He also said that 780 baggage are available at the airport and 90 percent of them will be dispatched to the people by Wednesday.

IndiGo cancelled over 400 flights today

IndiGo has been battling with flight cancellations and delays since the beginning of December. Thousands of IndiGo flights have been cancelled in the last week, leaving passengers stranded at airports.

On Tuesday, the airline cancelled over 400 flights nationwide. Delhi and Bengaluru were the worst affected with 152 and 121 flight cancellations, respectively.

Hyderabad saw 58 flight cancellations, Chennai 41, Ahmedabad 16, Thiruvananthapuram 4 and Mumbai 3.