DGCA fines IndiGo Rs 22.2 crore for December flight disruptions

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday imposed a penalty of Rs 22.2 crore on IndiGo following an investigation into widespread flight disruptions in December, finding that the airline overstretched its flight crew and failed to adequately implement revised pilot duty and rest norms, The Hindu reported.

The aviation regulator said its four-member inquiry committee found that there was “an overriding focus on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which significantly reduced roster buffer margins”.

Crew rosters were designed to maximise duty periods, with increased reliance on dead-heading, tail swaps, extended duty patterns and minimal recovery margins, which “compromised roster integrity and adversely impacted operational resilience”, the statement added.

The penalty relates to large-scale cancellations and delays between December 3 and 5, when 2,507 flights were cancelled and 1,852 delayed, affecting more than three lakh passengers.

The fine includes Rs 1.8 crore for multiple violations of Civil Aviation Requirements and Rs 20.4 crore as a cumulative penalty of Rs 30 lakh for continued non-compliance with revised Flight Duty Time Limitation norms over 68 days.

The probe also identified deficiencies in software systems, shortcomings in management structure, and weaknesses in operational control, The Hindu reported.

The regulator noted that following the December crisis, IndiGo was found to have 65 fewer captains than required to comply with the revised duty and rest norms, which came into effect on November 1.

The DGCA issued a warning to IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers, and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras, after serving them show-cause notices.

It also ordered the removal of Senior Vice President, Operational Control Centre, Jason Herter from his current position, citing failure in systemic planning and timely implementation of the revised norms, The Hindu reported.

Further, IndiGo has been directed to pledge a bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore to ensure compliance with the regulator’s directives and long-term systemic correction.

The aviation regulator said the amount will be released after verification of corrective measures across leadership and governance, manpower planning, rostering and fatigue-risk management, digital systems and operational resilience.

The regulator also said it will conduct an internal inquiry, following instructions from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, to examine how IndiGo was to increase flights in the winter schedule by 10% without assessing its ability to comply with the revised duty norms.

The disruptions in December came amid the rollout of stricter work hour norms introduced in November. The revised rostering norms, issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in January 2024 after concerns about pilot fatigue, were meant to take effect on June 1.

However, airlines asked for delayed implementation because of staffing shortages and operational challenges, and the key changes were eventually introduced on November 1.

The new rules required longer weekly rest, restricted night landings, extended the definition of night hours and limited consecutive night duties.

IndiGo used to operate about 2,300 flights daily and held about 60% of India’s domestic civil aviation market, making it the country’s largest airline.

Also read:

• IndiGo disruption reflects the crisis in India’s aviation sector
• Flyers can seek damages from IndiGo. But most will skip that route