'IndiGo at Fault, Not Govt': Civil Aviation Minister on Flight Chaos

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has placed the blame entirely on IndiGo Airlines for the massive flight disruptions that have stranded thousands of passengers across India over the past few days.

Speaking to the media, Naidu said that while over 1,000 IndiGo flights were cancelled, other airlines have managed to operate smoothly under the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms introduced in November.

"Whatever issue we are talking about is related to Indigo Airlines. So the fault is at Indigo, not at the major level, the ministry level or some other level. If there was some problem regarding the FDTL or something from the ministry, all the airlines should have faced issues, but that is not the case here," he said.

Passengers can expect relief starting today (Saturday), according to the minister. He explained that most major airports have cleared their backlog of stranded travelers, and IndiGo will resume limited operations tomorrow. The airline is expected to gradually scale up its flights to full capacity over the next few days. “As operations settle down, passengers will see normalcy return. Full recovery will take a couple of days,” Naidu added.

Addressing why authorities could not prevent such a crisis, Naidu said that both the ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have been in continuous contact with all airlines since the introduction of FDTL norms. He also highlighted that recent updates mandated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for Airbus A320 aircraft were implemented on 323 planes in record time without causing any operational disruption.

To investigate the matter further, a committee has been formed to probe the IndiGo disruptions and identify those responsible. Naidu was categorical that penalties will follow.

"It's not could be, it will be. There will be action on them, because this is not something which we want to entertain. We are very clear that the focus of the ministry is the passenger... It is our job, our responsibility, to ensure that these kinds of incidents don't happen next time. So, we are very, very clear that action is going to follow the inquiry," he said.

Also Read: 550+ Flights Cancelled as IndiGo Faces Staffing and Technical Crisis