 "Govt cuts IndiGo’s 5% slots, reallocates to rivals to clean up airport chaos")
As the IndiGo flight cancellations continue into the seventh day, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced that some of the airline’s slots will be transferred to other operators.
On Tuesday, over 150 flights from Bengaluru and Chennai were cancelled as the budget carrier tries to normalise the situation that has left thousands of passengers stranded across the country.
In an interview with DD News, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said, “We will curtail IndiGo’s routes. They are currently operating 2,200 flights. We will definitely curtail them.”
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has announced a decrease in IndiGo’s flights by 5 per cent. The plane carrier currently operates about 2,200 flights per day, and with the new measure, 115 flights will be reduced from its fleet to stabilise the situation.
Govt to assess on-ground situation today
On Tuesday, deputy secretaries from the ministry are set to travel to airports nationwide as part of the probe into the IndiGo flight crisis to assess conditions at “ground zero.”
A comprehensive review meeting involving IndiGo and all other carriers is also planned to evaluate overall operational readiness across the aviation sector. Sources told News18 that government officials and the DGCA are expected to meet with Elbers around 11 am to review the airline’s recent operational lapses.
IndiGo responded to the show-cause notice issued to CEO Pieter Elbers on Monday, saying that the airline is “profusely apologetic" for the flight disruptions last week, insisting that the crisis resulted from an “unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence" of multiple operational challenges.
DGCA said it is in the process of examining the response, and enforcement action, as deemed appropriate, will be taken in due course.
The regulator had on Saturday issued show cause notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras seeking explanations within 24 hours on the massive flight disruptions.
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View AllThis was later extended to Monday, 6 pm, after the airline sought more time from the regulator.
“IndiGo submitted replies signed by both Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer on December 8 at 1801 hours,” the DGCA said in a statement.
With inputs from agencies
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