The Directorate General of Civil Aviation in India (DGCA) has announced that it will monitor airfares to ensure they do not rise amid the Indigo airline flight disruption crisis.
The cancellations and delays of hundreds of flights operated by the Indian airline have been partly attributed to new Flight Duty Time Limitations implemented by the DGCA.
In a statement on Thursday, the DGCA mentioned that the situation is being reviewed and monitored by the Civil Aviation Minister and senior officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Indigo. Additionally, airport directors nationwide have been instructed to “provide all support to stranded passengers.”
The DGCA has been tasked with monitoring airfares and has directed Indigo to ensure that flight disruptions do not lead to increased prices.
The statement also confirmed that Indigo has provided explanations for the delays, “including transitional challenges in implementing the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) CAR, crew-planning issues, and winter-season operational constraints.”
The civil aviation authority stated that the FDTL rules were implemented to manage pilot fatigue and enhance flight safety.
Directions to Indigo
The DGCA also detailed its instructions to the Indian airline. According to the authority, the carrier must “submit a detailed roadmap covering projected crew recruitment.” It must also plan for “crew training, roster restructuring, safety-risk assessments, and mitigation measures.”
Amid the ongoing disruptions, the airline has been ordered to provide immediate steps to normalize operations and reduce flight cancellations. The DGCA has requested a detailed progress report every 15 days. This report must include operational improvements, crew availability, and roster stability.
“Indigo is directed to submit the FDTL relaxations required to normalize the flight operations for DGCA review. DGCA will continue to maintain strict, real-time monitoring of IndiGo’s network performance, restoration efforts, and passenger-handling measures over the coming week,” said the authority.
