The statement came a day after the IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras received DGCA notices, seeking explanations within 24 hours on the massive flight disruptions. Authorities will take appropriate action in the matter of the airline’s flight disruptions, depending on the inquiry committee’s findings, a senior government official said on Saturday.
Mumbai: The board of Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, has set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG), which is meeting regularly to monitor the situation, the airline said in a statement on Sunday. The company’s Board of Directors is doing everything possible to take care of the challenges faced by its customers and ensure refunds to passengers, it added.
The statement came a day after the IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras received DGCA notices, seeking explanations within 24 hours on the massive flight disruptions. Authorities will take appropriate action in the matter of the airline’s flight disruptions, depending on the inquiry committee’s findings, a senior government official said on Saturday.
“The Board of Directors of Interglobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) met on the first day that the problem of cancellations and delayed flights arose. The members received a detailed briefing from the management on the nature and extent of the crisis,” IndiGo said in a statement.
This meeting was followed up with a session confined to only Board members, in which it was decided to set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG), comprising, among others, Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta; Board Directors Gregg Saretsky, Mike Whitaker and Amitabh Kant, and CEO Pieter Elbers,” it added.
The group has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation and is being constantly updated by the management on the measures being undertaken to restore normal operations, according to the statement.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has held IndiGo’s top management accountable for ongoing flight disruptions, issuing a show-cause notice to its CEO Pieter Elbers, as the low-cost airlines cancelled more flights on Sunday amid an ongoing crisis.
The aviation regulator has sought explanation from him within 24 hours on why enforcement action should not be initiated against him after widespread IndiGo delays and cancellations disrupted air travel across the country.
The rules the airline failed to comply with are 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and Civil Aviation Requirements which pertain to fatigue management of pilots.
According to the DGCA notice, “Whereas such large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning, oversight, and resource management, and prima facie non-compliance on the part of the airline”.
“Whereas as the CEO you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airlines, but you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for the conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passenger,” said the notice.
The DGCA noted “massive disruptions” in IndiGo’s schedule, causing “severe inconvenience, hardship and distress” to travellers. It also highlighted that the large-scale operational collapse points to “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management”.
In a video message on Friday, Elbers said that given the size, scale, and complexity of their operations, it will take some time to return to a full normal situation, “which we do anticipate between the 10 to 15th of December”.
In an interaction with IANS, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu said that measures have been implemented to prevent further issues for passengers amid the ongoing crisis of cancellations and delays with IndiGo.
He also mentioned that any necessary strict action against the airline will be taken following an investigation.
Agencies