IndiGo under tighter watch as DGCA sets up oversight team, deploys two officers to its Gurgaon HQ
Apart from setting up an Oversight Team to keep a close watch on the airline, two officers will be permanently stationed at IndiGo’s Corporate Office in Gurgaon.
IndiGo has come under tight scrutiny of the Civil Aviation Ministry as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set up an Oversight Team to monitor the airline’s operations. This move comes days after widespread flight disruptions led to the cancellation of thousands of IndiGo flights.
Apart from setting up an Oversight Team to closely monitor the airline, two officers will be permanently stationed at IndiGo’s Corporate Office in Gurgaon for continuous supervision.
In its order, the DGCA said, “IndiGo under tighter watch as DGCA sets up oversight team, deploys two officers to its Gurgaon HQ. In view of passenger inconvenience caused due to large-scale disruptions in the operations of IndiGo Airlines at various airports across the country, it has been decided to constitute an Oversight Team.”
The members of the Oversight Team include Capt. Vikram Sharma, Dy. CFOI(A); Capt. Kapil Mangalik, SFOI(A); Capt. V P Singh, SFOI(A); Capt. Apoorva Agarwal, SFOI(A); Capt. Swati Loomba, SFOI(A); Capt. Aman Suhag, SFOI(A); Capt. Nitya Jain, FOI(A) and Capt. N. J. Singh, FOI(A).
Two members of the Oversight Team would be stationed every day at the Gurgaon office of IndiGo to look into “total number of pilots, crew utilisation in hours, crew under training, split duties, unplanned leaves of the staff per day, standby crew and more”.
In addition, Aishveer Singh, Deputy Director (AED), and Mani Bhushan, Senior Statistical Officer, have been deployed to IndiGo’s corporate office in Gurgaon. They will monitor various aspects of the airline’s operations, including domestic and international flight cancellations, refund status for both the airline and OTA platforms or travel agents, on-time performance, passenger compensation as per CAR regulations and the timely return of baggage.
Earlier, the regulatory body instructed officials to conduct immediate on-site inspections at 11 airports to check the status of flight delays and cancellations, congestion at terminal areas and check-ins, the staffing of airline helpdesks 24/7, airport operational manpower, and availability of basic passenger amenities.
On Tuesday, 9 December, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu also announced that IndiGo has been ordered to curtail its overall routes by 10 per cent. IndiGo has said that it will comply with the order.
In a post on X, Ram Mohan Naidu said, “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 10% curtailment has been ordered. While abiding by it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before.”
