Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday said the IndiGo fiasco erupted due to the airline’s crew rostering and internal planning, asserting that there was no issue in the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norm.Speaking in Rajya Sabha over the issue, Naidu said the government immediately stepped in when the crisis mounted. He said a meeting was held with IndiGo when they sought clarity on FDTL, adding that the issue was not flagged back then.
"The IndiGo crisis occurred due to problems in its crew rostering and internal planning systems. IndiGo was supposed to manage crew rosters through its day-to-day operations. We are ensuring that the FDTL is properly implemented, and there has been no compromise on that front. For a full month, we have been closely monitoring the situation. On December 1, we held a meeting with IndiGo regarding FDTL when they sought clarifications, and we provided them. They did not flag any issues then, and everything was running normally. Suddenly, on December 3, we observed these issues and the Ministry immediately stepped in. We took control of the situation at airports and consulted all stakeholders,” he said.
Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the people, Minister Naidu said an inquiry into the unprecedented cancellations and delays of IndiGo flights is underway and strict action will be taken.
“You have seen how things unfolded over those two days. Passengers faced a lot of difficulty, and we do not take this situation lightly. An inquiry is underway, and we will take very strict action, not only for this case but as an example. Any miscompliance or non-adherence by any person, entity, organization, or operator in civil aviation will attract very strict action to set an industry-wide example," he added.
