India’s aviation crisis deepened on Wednesday as IndiGo cancelled 61 more flights from Bengaluru, a day after the government cut its winter schedule by 10 per cent. Despite CEO Pieter Elbers’ assurance that operations were stable, passengers continue to face disruptions, delays and rising airfares
Representational Image. File Pic
The chaos in the aviation sector across the country continues to cause disruptions on Wednesday. IndiGo Airlines on Wednesday cancelled over 60 flights from Bengaluru Airport, despite Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers claiming on December 9 that the airline's operations were back on track.
As reported by news agency PTI, IndiGo has cancelled 61 flights on Wednesday, including 35 arrivals and 26 departures.
Earlier on Tuesday, after the government slashed IndiGo's winter flight schedule by 10 per cent, or around 220 flights of the nearly 2,200 approved per day, IndiGo cancelled 460 flights from six metros alone. The IndiGo CEO, Elbers, claimed that the airline was "back on its feet" and its operations were "stable".
The CEO further said that lakhs of customers have already received their full refunds, without giving any specific numbers, but remained tight-lipped on the issue of compensation to those whose flights were abruptly cancelled, hugely delayed or rescheduled without their consent.
However, as per the Civil Aviation Ministry's passenger charter, airlines are liable to pay compensation to passengers for flight delays or cancellations under certain situations.
Also, the airlines have to provide this compensation automatically without passengers having to request it.
IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations, causing severe hardships for passengers, driving up airfares on other domestic carriers and creating chaos across airports pan-India.
The chaotic situation, which disrupted the aviation sector across the country on December 1, continued till December 5 before the government stepped in with the DGCA issuing show-cause notices to Elbers and IndiGo Chief Operating Officer Isidro Proqueras, who is also the Accountable Manager for the Rahul Bhatia-controlled airline, and also ordered capping of airfares.
However, on Tuesday, the government ordered a 10 per cent cut in the airline's winter schedule.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, during the Parliament Winter Sessions, said that "The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline's operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10 per cent has been ordered. While abiding by it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before," as cited by news agency PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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