Shafaqna India: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers seeking an explanation for the massive flight disruptions that caused severe inconvenience and distress to passengers.
The regulator attributed the chaos to the airline’s failure to make adequate arrangements for the revised requirements under the approved Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms. The large-scale operational failures indicated significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management, the regulator said in the notice.
“As the CEO, you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers,” it said, directing Elbers to reply within 24 hours.
As the airline’s operational breakdown left passengers stranded for a fifth consecutive day, the Centre moved to contain the crisis by imposing strict fare caps, directing immediate refunds and warning of regulatory action for any delays.
The airline, which cancelled over 800 flights on Saturday alone, has triggered one of the worst disruptions in recent years. Under the temporary price ceiling now in force, economy fares cannot exceed Rs 7,500 for routes up to 500 km, Rs 12,000 for 500-1,000 km, Rs 15,000 for 1,000-1,500 km and Rs 18,000 for distances beyond 1,500 km. These limits apply across airline websites and online travel portals until fares stabilise. The ministry said the cap was essential after witnessing “unreasonable” spikes as travellers scrambled for alternatives.