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Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav on Wednesday claimed that the entire IndiGo fiasco, leading to delays and cancellations, happened because of an order of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
He was referring to the new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). "People need to think about why this whole thing happened. It happened after an order of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The airline's flight schedule has been cut by 10 per cent. Now, who will get this 10 per cent? Tata will get it. Tata ko Adani lene jaa rahe hai. Everybody knows it," Yadav told ANI. The DGCA on Tuesday directed IndiGo to reduce its flight operations by 5 per cent across sectors, citing the airline's failure to operate its winter schedule efficiently and a backlog of cancellations. The government, however, doubled the curtailment to 10 per cent. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Tuesday said that the flight operations were stabilising fast with airports reporting no "crowding or distress". He said that the safety in Civil Aviation remains non-negotiable. While speaking in Lok Sabha, Naidu said that IndiGo operated 1,800 flights yesterday, compared with merely 706 on December 5, suggesting the situation was expected to improve. The Minister said that the government was ensuring accountability as the DGCA issued show-cause notices to IndiGo's senior leadership. He assured that strict action, as per the aircraft rules and act, will be taken against the culprits. "At the same time, accountability will be ensured. DGCA has issued show-cause notices to IndiGo's senior leadership and commenced a detailed enforcement investigation. Depending on the outcome, strict and appropriate action, as empowered under the aircraft rules and act, will be taken. No airline will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures and non-compliance with statutory provisions," Naidu said. He said the revised FDTL norms were being implemented for passenger safety, which is non-negotiable."Safety in Civil Aviation is non-negotiable. India is a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and remains committed to the highest global standards of safety. Revised flight duty time limitation, designed to prevent pilot fatigue, is being implemented. These reforms are essentially for passenger safety," Naidu said. The Minister revealed that IndiGo's "internal rostering disruptions" led to large-scale flight cancellations, affecting thousands of passengers. He said that IndiGo had earlier assured compliance with the FDTL norms. "DGCA adopted a phased-wise implementation plan in consultation with all the stakeholders. Phase 1 from July 2025, Phase 2 from November 1. Indigo had assured compliance with these norms and confirmed its preparedness to undertake its winter schedule. Despite this, prima facie it was observed that internal rostering disruptions led to large-scale cancellations, causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers," Naidu said. (ANI)
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