IndiGo chairman denies 'engineered crisis' claims, says disruptions 'not deliberate'
Vikram Singh Mehta insists mass flight disruptions were not deliberate, cites weather and FDTL rule change; board calls in external experts for probe
IndiGo chairman Vikram Singh Mehta, in a video statement on Wednesday (December 10), dismissed allegations circulating amid the airline’s operational crisis, including claims that the company “engineered the crisis” or “attempted to influence government rules”.
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The statement comes after IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights since Tuesday (December 2), following its failure to adequately implement the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.
Not 'engineered crisis'
Mehta acknowledged that "over the past week, there has been a lot of criticism, some fair, some not". He said the fair criticism includes the airline letting its customers down and being accountable to passengers, the government, shareholders, as well as the company’s employees.
However, he stressed that certain allegations emerging during the crisis are "untrue". These include claims that the mass flight cancellations were an “IndiGo-engineered crisis”, that the airline sought to "influence government regulations", or that it "compromised safety".
"…there are some allegations that are untrue, that IndiGo engineered the crisis, that we tried to influence government rules, that we compromised safety, that the Board was not involved," he said.
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Mehta added that these assertions were incorrect, emphasising that IndiGo had followed pilot fatigue regulations as they came into effect and had operated under the new rules both in July and November.
Disruptions not 'deliberate'
He reiterated that the disruptions were not the result of any "deliberate action". Instead, he attributed the crisis to a combination of internal factors and unforeseen external events, including minor technical issues, winter-related schedule changes, adverse weather, increased congestion in the aviation system, and the implementation of operations under updated crew-rostering rules.
He also rejected claims that the Board had been disengaged. "This is not correct. The Board has been closely involved with this matter for many, many months," he said.
The IndiGo chairman said that the Board held an emergency meeting and set up a crisis-management group after the first day of disruptions, and the results have been "tangibly positive".
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"Operations are back to normal earlier than expected. Refunds worth several hundred crore have been processed. Hotel and travel assistance have been provided, and the remaining delayed baggage is now being delivered," he added.
External experts
Nearly 220 flights were cancelled on Wednesday, with Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru airports reporting the highest numbers.
Mehta also announced that the Board has decided to bring in external technical experts to work with management to identify the root causes of the disruption.
"The Board has decided it will involve external technical experts to work with the management and help determine the root causes and ensure corrective action, so that this level of disruption never occurs again," he said.
On Tuesday (December 9), the government ordered a 10 per cent reduction in the airline’s winter schedule. IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has also been summoned by the civil aviation ministry on Thursday to provide an update on the situation.