“No shortage of pilots, no hiring freeze”: IndiGo launches a study of the root causes of disruptions following an opinion from the DGAC
IndiGo has launched a “comprehensive root cause analysis” of the major flight disruptions that hit its network over the past five days, with a senior airline official saying on Sunday that operations were gradually stabilizing and expected to return to normal by December 10.
The official said the cancellations were the result of a “combination of factors,” including the rollout of the second phase of the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) standards for pilots, which took effect Nov. 1 and limit the number of night landings. “We will need a root cause analysis, which will obviously take time…the disruptions occurred due to a combination of factors and which factor played what role (will be known after the root cause analysis),” the official said. PTI.
“No pilot shortage, no hiring freeze”‘
Pushing back against speculation that an inadequate pilot pool triggered the crisis, the official insisted the airline had sufficient flight crew. “Our driver numbers are good, although we may not have the luxury of a buffer,” he said. He also clarified that there was “no hiring freeze”, addressing concerns that a lean operating model could have contributed to the disruption.
IndiGo – which typically operates around 2,300 flights per day – has canceled hundreds of services since Tuesday. The official said the situation improved on December 7, with a drop in cancellations and operations expected to affect 1,650 flights, compared to 1,500 on December 6.
Acknowledging the turbulence of the past week, the official noted that the experience would serve as a learning curve. “We are normalizing our operations and full stability of operations is expected by December 10,” he said.
Responding to questions on why rival carriers did not face similar challenges related to FDTL, the official said, “For whatever reason, they had a better buffer than IndiGo in terms of number of pilots. We didn’t have the same kind of buffer. But that doesn’t mean there is a question of insufficiency, no. They are two different things.”
The DGAC issues show cause notices
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued show cause notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and responsible director Isidro Porqueras, seeking explanations for the disruptions. Failure to provide a satisfactory response may result in sanctions.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said on December 7 that the airline was “recovering” after days of massive cancellations and delays, with around 1,650 flights expected to be operational throughout the day as efforts to stabilize the network continue.
In an internal video message to staff at the airline’s operational control center, Elbers said IndiGo’s (OTP) on-time performance is expected to reach 75% today. “Today we have made further improvements to the system to reach around 1,650 flights,” he said, adding that “step by step we are going back.”
Asked if the chaos could have been avoided, the official said the airline would only assess this after completing its internal assessment. “We’ll do our root cause analysis… we’ll do that and then we’ll know (what) the planning error was, if any.”
Prepared for fog season
Looking ahead, IndiGo said it is fully prepared for the upcoming winter fog season. “There are sufficient numbers of planes and pilots. We are confident in our ability to handle the fog season,” the official said. The airline continues to work to restore normal operations amid a week of significant delays, long lines and passenger frustration at major airports.
(With inputs from PTI)
