New Delhi: Cracking the whip after days of passenger chaos last month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a record Rs 22.20 crore penalty on IndiGo for large-scale flight cancellations and delays in December, holding the country’s biggest airline guilty of poor planning, inadequate preparedness and repeated violations of pilot duty norms.
The regulator’s action follows a detailed inquiry into the disruption between December 3 and 5, when IndiGo cancelled over 2,500 flights and delayed nearly 1,850 more, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across major airports at the peak of the winter travel season. The DGCA inquiry committee found that the airline failed to realign its operations after the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules came into force, leading to a collapse of schedules.
Of the total penalty, Rs 1.80 crore has been imposed as a one-time fine for multiple violations of civil aviation regulations, while Rs 20.40 crore has been levied as a continuing penalty, calculated at Rs 30 lakh per day for 68 days, for non-compliance with the revised duty norms between December 5 and February 10.
In an unprecedented move, the DGCA has also directed IndiGo to furnish a Rs 50 crore bank guarantee under a newly created Systemic Reform Assurance Scheme, aimed at ensuring long-term corrective action. The guarantee will be released in phases, subject to the regulator’s satisfaction that the airline has implemented reforms in leadership, crew planning, digital systems and operational resilience over the next several months.
The regulator did not stop at financial penalties. Warnings have been issued to IndiGo’s top management, including CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras, for lapses in oversight and planning. The DGCA has further ordered that the Senior Vice President heading the Operations Control Centre be relieved of operational responsibilities and barred from holding any accountable position, citing serious systemic failures.
The inquiry report pointed to IndiGo’s aggressive optimisation of aircraft and crew utilisation, leaving little room for recovery during disruptions. Heavy reliance on practices such as dead-heading and stretched rosters, the DGCA noted, made the system vulnerable and triggered the cascading cancellations and delays.
IndiGo, which controls close to two-thirds of India’s domestic aviation market, has said it is taking full cognisance of the DGCA order and will take corrective steps to strengthen its systems and ensure compliance.
The airline has processed refunds and statutory compensation and offered affected passengers travel vouchers as part of its post-disruption measures.
The penalty marks the highest fine ever imposed by the DGCA on an Indian airline, signalling a tougher regulatory stance as air travel surges and passenger expectations rise in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
BI Bureau
