New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has received the report of its internal inquiry into the large-scale operational disruptions at IndiGo, official sources said on Friday.
The four-member committee, set up on December 5, submitted its findings to the regulator on Friday evening after being granted an extension. The panel was led by Joint Director General of Civil Aviation Sanjay K Bramhane and included a Deputy Director General of the DGCA, a senior flight operations inspector and a flight operations instructor.
Sources said the report has been marked confidential and its details have not been disclosed.
The committee was tasked with examining the circumstances that led to widespread flight cancellations, delays and network disruptions at the country’s largest airline. It also looked into whether gaps in planning, preparedness or regulatory compliance played a role in the crisis.
IndiGo faced sharp scrutiny in December after more than 5,000 flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers were stranded across airports due to cascading delays. The disruption began in late November and stretched into early December, affecting operations nationwide.
Ahead of the crisis, the DGCA had flagged repeated shortcomings by the airline in implementing the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation norms. The regulator said it had issued multiple directions and advance advisories to IndiGo, asking it to ensure readiness for compliance with the updated rules.
The watchdog later noted that the airline failed to correctly assess crew availability, complete training within prescribed timelines and restructure crew rosters despite prior regulatory intimation. These lapses, the DGCA said, triggered a chain of delays and cancellations and led to non-compliance with regulatory directions.
After the disruption, the regulator held a review meeting with IndiGo, during which the airline acknowledged that it had underestimated crew requirements under the revised norms. The DGCA recorded that there were significant gaps in planning and assessment during the rollout of Phase II of the Flight Duty Time Limitation Civil Aviation Requirements, 2024.
The revised FDTL framework was introduced in two stages, with Phase I taking effect from July 1 and Phase II from November 1.
IndiGo has said it took all possible steps to manage operations amid difficult conditions and maintained that its network was stabilised from December 9 onwards.
BI Bureau
