Congress leader Karti Chidambaram says, 'DGCA and the Civil Aviation Ministry are equally responsible for the IndiGo disruption'

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram. Pic/X

In view of the ongoing Indigo flight cancellation crisis, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Friday held the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation equally responsible. The Congress leader further said that an impact study should have been carried out before issuing a notification on Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL).

While speaking to the media on Friday, Karti Chidambaram asserted, "While the airline is primarily responsible, the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation are also equally responsible, as they are the ones who gave the new notification on flight crew rest times. They should have conducted an impact study to see whether the airlines are capable of implementing it," as cited by news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, a special four-member committee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will meet with IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers on Friday, December 12, to question the latter on the widespread cancellation of flights in the last week.

The four-member committee has been constituted to examine the flight disruptions caused by IndiGo, which have created complete chaos at various airports. As reported by news agency ANI, DGCA has increased scrutiny of the airline following widespread flight cancellations and delays and has taken several steps to ensure smooth operations.

Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu informed the Lok Sabha that the flight operations were stabilising fast, with airports reporting no "crowding or distress".

The Civil Aviation Minister further said that the safety in civil aviation remains non-negotiable.

Moreover, IndiGo has also offered travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000 to severely impacted customers over the past few days, which can be used for any future IndiGo journey within the next 12 months.

DGCA suspends 4 flight operations inspectors

Earlier on Friday, the aviation safety regulator DGCA had also suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) over massive disruptions in IndiGo's operations. The airline cancelled over 50 flights from Bengaluru Airport on Friday, which continued the major disruption across the country.

Also, the FOIs are senior officials within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, working as part of its regulatory and safety oversight functions, often deployed to monitor airline operations.

(With inputs from ANI)