New Delhi, Dec 3
Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Wednesday informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that the airline had to cancel a total of 1, 232 flights, of which as many as 755 flights were scrapped due to crew shortage resulting from the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms.
Another 258 flights were affected due to airspace restrictions, while 92 flights were impacted due to ATC system failure.
The DGCA said in a statement that it is currently investigating the situation and evaluating measures along with the airline to reduce cancellations and delays, in order to minimise the inconvenience being caused to passengers.
IndiGo has also been asked to report to DGCA Headquarters, to present the facts leading to the current situation along with plans to mitigate the ongoing delays and cancellations, the statement said.
"A large share of cancellations arose from crew/FDTL compliance and airport/airspace/ATC-related factors, many of which lie beyond the operator’s direct control," the airline said.
IndiGo also informed the DGCA that its overall on-time performance (OTP) declined to 67.7 per cent for November v/s. 84.1 per cent in October.
The DGCA said it has provided further clarification to the airline for streamlining the implementation of the revised FDTL norms.
According to the DGCA statement, IndiGo is now taking measures to strengthen crew planning and rostering while adhering to FDTL norms. The airline is also enhancing coordination with ATC and airports to manage capacity constraints and improve turnaround and disruption-management processes.
Travellers are advised to verify flight status through official channels before departure, the statement added.
IndiGo was forced to cancel scores of flights on Wednesday across major destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports, mainly due to crew shortages that wreaked havoc with flying schedules.
While there were some cancellations on Tuesday, the situation turned worse on Wednesday.
IndiGo said in a statement: "We acknowledge that IndiGo’s operations have been significantly disrupted across the network for the past two days, and we sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused."
A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges, including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system, and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations), had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated, the airline stated.
IndiGo said that to contain the disruption and restore stability, the airline has initiated calibrated adjustments to its schedules. "These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow us to normalise our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network. The airline’s teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilise as quickly as possible. Furthermore, the affected customers are being offered alternative travel arrangements to reach their destinations or refunds, as applicable," the airline said in a statement.
"We request customers to check the latest flight status at https://www.goindigo.in/check-flight-status.html before heading to the airport," the statement added.
- IANS
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