The fallout from the massive flight cancellation crisis at IndiGo has hit the airline and its regulatory overseers hard.1 That happened. The aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has sacked four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) who were responsible for overseeing the safety and operational compliance of IndiGo.2 The reason? Negligence in inspection and monitoring of the airline, sources say.
This crackdown is a direct result of IndiGo failing to adequately plan for and implement tighter safety regulations, leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights and stranding tens of thousands of passengers this month.3 It was, as the Civil Aviation Minister put it, “internal mismanagement.”
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The Two-Pronged Intervention
The DGCA hasn’t stopped at firing the inspectors.4 They have deployed two dedicated oversight teams directly to IndiGo’s office in Gurugram.5 These teams are there to ensure the airline gets its house in order. They have to submit a daily report to the regulator by 6 p.m.6
Here’s a breakdown of what they’re monitoring:
| Team | Focus Area (Operational) | Focus Area (Customer Crisis) |
| Team 1 | Fleet, pilot strength, crew utilization (in hours), crew under training, standby crew, unplanned leaves, and network details. | Total sectors affected on account of crew shortage and average stage length. |
| Team 2 | Refund status (from the airline and agents), compensation to passengers under Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR). | On-time performance, returning lost baggage, and overall cancellation status of various flights. |
IndiGo’s Mandated Cut
And here’s the kicker: the Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered IndiGo to immediately curtail its overall operations by 10 per cent.7
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The Math: With IndiGo typically operating around 2,200 flights daily, this 10% reduction means the cancellation of more than 200 flights per day.
The Reason: Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the Ministry felt this cut was “necessary to curtail the overall IndiGo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations.”8
The Directive: IndiGo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, was explicitly instructed to comply with all Ministry directives, including fare capping and other passenger convenience measures, “without any exception.”9
The message is clear: the government is ensuring accountability after passengers faced “severe inconvenience due to IndiGo’s internal mismanagement.”10 It’s an ongoing effort to stabilize the country’s largest airline.
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