DGCA fires inspectors amid IndiGo meltdown and summons CEO again

India’s aviation regulator has dismissed four key flight inspectors and intensified its scrutiny of IndiGo as the airline’s ongoing operational crisis continues to disrupt travel nationwide.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) removed the inspectors — Rish Raj Chatterjee, Seema Jhamnani, Anil Kumar Pokhariyal and Priyam Kaushik — citing negligence in their monitoring duties at a time when IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights this month. The move follows severe criticism of the airline’s poor planning, crew shortages and its failure to comply with strengthened safety and operational norms.

The dismissals were confirmed in a DGCA notice stating that the four Flight Operations Inspectors, all serving on contract, were “relieved from DGCA with immediate effect” to return to their parent organisations.

CEO called in again

With cancellations stranding tens of thousands of passengers, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has been summoned once more by the four-member DGCA committee set up to investigate the disruptions. Elbers is scheduled to appear again on Friday, days after the regulator issued him a show-cause notice. IndiGo has already sought more time to respond, saying it is “realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” given the scale and complexity of its operations.

The DGCA, however, has expanded its oversight. Two special monitoring teams have been stationed at IndiGo’s Gurugram headquarters to track the airline’s operations in real time and file daily reports by 6pm.

Two-pronged oversight

One oversight team is examining IndiGo’s fleet deployment, pilot availability, crew utilisation, training schedules, split-duty patterns, unplanned leave, standby crew and the number of flights cancelled due to crew shortages. It is also reviewing network planning and average stage length to assess how deep the disruption runs.

The second team is focusing on passenger impact. Its mandate includes tracking refunds by the airline and travel agents, compensation under Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), baggage return timelines, on-time performance and overall cancellation status.

To stabilise operations, the DGCA has ordered IndiGo to reduce capacity by 10 per cent. With the airline typically operating about 2,200 flights a day, the directive effectively means more than 200 daily cancellations until further notice.

Government criticism, passenger relief

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu slammed the airline’s “mismanagement” of rosters, flight schedules and communication, saying passengers had suffered “severe inconvenience”. After meeting CEO Elbers earlier, the minister instructed IndiGo to comply with all ministry directives, including temporary fare caps and enhanced support for affected travellers.

Despite assurances in Parliament that airport operations are “stabilising fast” and that safety remains “non-negotiable”, the turmoil has left customers frustrated at long delays and last-minute cancellations.

Acknowledging the chaos, IndiGo has offered travel vouchers worth Rs10,000 to passengers who faced extreme delays between December 3 and 5, valid for any future journey on the airline within the next 12 months.

- with inputs from IANS, ANI