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Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram described the widespread flight cancellations, especially of IndiGo, as a consequence of what he termed a duopolistic market.
In a post on X on Saturday morning, the Congress veteran backed the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who had on various occasions opposed duopoly in businesses. "Mr Rahul Gandhi was spot on when he said that the monopoly/duopoly model is ill-suited for a developing country," Chidambaram wrote on X. Duopoly prevails in many sectors of the Indian economy; the airline industry is one, the veteran Congress leader said. "Liberalisation and Open Economy are based on competition. Absent competition, there will be baneful consequences as we are witnessing now in the airline industry. People must ponder over HOW a vibrant and competitive airline industry in India was reduced to a two-player business, and WHY," he further wrote. IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across sectors, leaving passengers stranded and causing widespread chaos at airports. The cause of the disruption includes the inability to implement new pilot duty-hour regulations and crew shortage. With the ongoing disruption in flight schedules, particularly those of IndiGo, the Ministry of Civil Aviation took urgent and proactive measures on Friday. The Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) orders of the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect. According to the Ministry, this decision has been taken without compromising air safety solely in the interest of passengers, especially senior citizens, students, patients, and others who rely on timely air travel for essential needs. According to the Ministry, based on the immediate implementation of these directives, they expect flight schedules to begin stabilising and returning to normal by tomorrow. They anticipate that complete restoration of services will be achieved within the next three days. To support passengers during this period, airlines have been instructed to provide regular, accurate updates through enhanced online information systems, enabling passengers to monitor real-time flight status from home. According to the Ministry, in the event of any flight cancellations, airlines will automatically issue full refunds, without passengers needing to request them. Passengers who are stranded due to prolonged delays will be provided with hotel accommodation arranged directly by the airlines. The Government of India has decided to institute a high-level inquiry into this disruption. The investigation will examine what went wrong at IndiGo, determine accountability where required to ensure appropriate action, and recommend measures to prevent similar disruptions in the future, ensuring that passengers do not face such hardships again. (ANI)
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