No airline will be allowed to cause hardship to passengers: Naidu

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday said that no airline, no matter how big, will be allowed to cause hardship to passengers. Naidu's comments followed the ongoing disruptions in operations of India's largest airline IndiGo, which operates almost 60 per cent of the domestic flights.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the minister said, "The DGCA has issued show cause notices to IndiGo 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, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures, non-compliance or non-adherence to statutory provisions."

Safety non-negotiable: Naidu

Noting that safety in civil aviation is completely non-negotiable, Naidu said, "Revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), scientifically designed to prevent pilot fatigue, are being implemented. These reforms are essentially for passenger safety. DGCA adopted a phased-wise implementation plan in consultation with all the stakeholders... IndiGo had clearly assured full compliance with these norms and also confirmed its preparedness to undertake its winter schedule."

Despite these assurances, it was observed that internal rostering disruptions led to large-scale cancellations, causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers, he added.

The minister said the airline has been directed to restructure its operations, reserve crew capacity, improve passenger handling, and restore normal schedules without any oversight.

IndiGo's disruption has resulted in mass cancellations, widespread delays and the company paying refunds amounting to ₹827 crore. The airline cancelled over 500 flights on November 5 and at least 650 flights on November 7, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across the country. Shares of InterGlobe Aviation fell nearly 9 per cent on Monday, with the company losing nearly ₹18,000 crore in market valuation.

IndiGo operations stabilising

Naidu also noted that the operations were stabilising. "Indigo's daily flights, which had fallen drastically to 706 on December 5, have recovered to over 1,800 flights yesterday and are expected to rise further today," he said.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the on-time performance of IndiGo was 85.7 per cent for December 8, the best among its peers.

"All other airlines continue to operate smoothly across the country, and the airports are reporting normal conditions without crowding or distress. Refunds, baggage claims, and passenger support measures remain under continuous supervision by the ministry. At the same time, accountability will be ensured," he said.