New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Tuesday said the government has ordered a 10% cut in IndiGo flights as the airline continues to face nationwide disruptions, adding that CEO Pieter Elbers was called to the ministry to provide an update on the situation.
In a post on X, Kinjarapu said, “During the last week, many passengers faced severe inconvenience due to Indigo’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication. While the enquiry and necessary actions are underway, another meeting with Indigo’s top management was held to review the stabilization measures.”
“Today again, @IndiGo6E CEO Pieter Elbers was summoned to the Ministry to provide an update. He confirmed that 100% of the refunds for flights affected till 6th December have been completed. A strict instruction to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover was given,” he added.
The minister further wrote: “The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilizing the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before. Indigo has been instructed to comply with all the directives of the Ministry, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures without any exception.”
Earlier in the day, Elbers in a video message, said, “IndiGo is back on its feet, and our operations are stable...Lakhs of customers have received their full refunds, and we continue to do so on a daily basis. Most of the bags stuck at airports have been delivered to your homes...
“We also continue to address customer needs...As of yesterday, we are back to flying to all our 138 destinations in our network...We continue to work in full cooperation with the govt... We have started to focus internally on what has led to this, lessons to be learnt and how to emerge stronger.”
More than 400 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Tuesday -- most of them in Delhi and Bengaluru. Incidentally, IndiGo had on Monday announcing that it is set to operate more than 1,800 (of 2,300) flights, a considerable rise from the roughly 1,650 flights operated on Sunday.
On-Ground Monitoring
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said on X, "All senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation have been instructed to visit airports to verify airline operations and passenger-oriented services", adding that any shortcomings identified, including feedback received through interactions with passengers are to be addressed and rectified immediately.
MoCA and DGCA has been constantly monitoring the situation across all the airports in real-time since December 3 due to extra ordinary circumstances caused by the disruption of Indigo operations.
A high-level review meeting comprising all the senior officials was undertaken for a comprehensive assessment of the situation, the ministry said.