‘You failed in your duty’: Aviation regulator DGCA issues show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO over crisis
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘You failed in your duty’: Aviation regulator DGCA issues show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO over crisis")
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers Photograph: (PTI)
The CEO has been directed to respond within 24 hours, failing which the regulator will “decide the matter ex parte”, potentially opening the door to penalties ranging from financial sanctions to operational restrictions.
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers, holding him accountable for the massive operational crisis and flight disruptions that left thousands of passengers stranded across the country and forced the airline to cancel nearly a thousand flights in a day. The notice is one of the most severe interventions by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that comes after mounting public anger over what officials described as “massive disruptions resulting in severe inconvenience, hardship and distress to passengers.”
The DGCA said that the primary trigger for the aviation crisis was IndiGo’s failure to make “adequate arrangements” for the rollout of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for pilots, a change that had been notified months in advance and came into effect from November 1. IndiGo’s inability to adjust its rosters and resources in time led to widespread cancellations, delays, crew shortages and cascading disruption across its 138-destination network, the DGCA said.
“It has been observed that scheduled flights of M/s Indigo Airlines have recently faced massive disruptions resulting in severe inconvenience, hardship and distress to passengers,” the notice read.
“It has also been noticed that the primary cause of said flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL scheme for the airline,” it added.
The notice accuses IndiGo of failing to plan for revised duty and rest requirements for cockpit crew, non-compliance with Rule 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, violations of multiple Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) governing duty periods and failing to provide information, assistance, or facilities mandated for passengers during cancellations and delays.
“As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airline. You have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to passengers,” the notice said.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
The CEO has been directed to respond within 24 hours, failing which the regulator will “decide the matter ex parte”, potentially opening the door to penalties ranging from financial sanctions to operational restrictions.
“It has also been noticed that the primary cause of said flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL scheme for the airline,” it added.
The notice accuses IndiGo of failing to plan for revised duty and rest requirements for cockpit crew, non-compliance with Rule 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, violations of multiple Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) governing duty periods and failing to provide information, assistance, or facilities mandated for passengers during cancellations and delays.
“As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airline. You have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to passengers,” the notice said.
The CEO has been directed to respond within 24 hours, failing which the regulator will “decide the matter ex parte”, potentially opening the door to penalties ranging from financial sanctions to operational restrictions.
