Mohol: IndiGo passengers faced mental distress; action to follow inquiry report

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday said that passengers have endured mental harassment and distress due to IndiGos ongoing operational crisis and assured that steps are being taken to ensure accountability is fixed reported news agency PTIIndiGo has cancelled more than 2000 flights and delayed others leaving thousands of passengers stranded at several airports around the country since TuesdayThe aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA has constituted a fourmember inquiry panel to determine reasons for the current situation and recommend mitigation measures and has issued a showcause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter ElbersTalking to reporters Mohol said All passengers have suffered mental distress and have had to face many difficulties They had to endure mental harassment because of IndiGo reported PTIAction will be taken after the fourmember committee submits its report he said adding that accountability will be fixed and nobody will be sparedCertain responsibilities that IndiGo was expected to carry out were not fulfilled and this is what led to the present situation The DGCA has formed an inquiry committee and set up a control room It has also issued a notice to IndiGo Limits on ticket sales have been imposed on all airline companies he said reported PTIMohol said that instructions have been given to ensure all passengers whose flights were cancelled are refundedIndiGo cancels over 220 flights at Mumbai Delhi airportsMeanwhile IndiGo cancelled more than 220 flights at Delhi and Mumbai airports on Sunday as the disruptions entered the sixth day while efforts are on to normalise operationsThe disruptions have resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays in the last few days causing hardships to thousands of passengersSources said at least 112 flights were cancelled at the Mumbai airport and 109 flights at Delhi airportAfter cancelling approximately 1600 of its 2300 daily flights on Friday the airline saw a reduction in disruptions on Saturday with cancellations falling to around 800 sources told PTIIndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Porqueras on Saturday received DGCA notices seeking explanations within 24 hours on the massive flight disruptionsThe main objective of operating just 700 flights on Friday was to reboot the network systems and rosters so that we could start afresh today Saturday with higher number of flights improved stability and there are some early signs of improvement IndiGo had said in a statementThe airline said it operated 1500 flights on SaturdayIn the notices sent to Elbers and Porqueras the regulator said the largescale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning oversight and resource managementThe notices mentioned that the primary cause of the flight disruptions is nonprovisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL Flight Duty Time Limitations scheme for the airlineThe Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA has asked Elbers and Porqueras to reply within 24 hoursWith inputs from PTI