Centre And Indigo Differ On Whether Airline Flagged Issues Over FDTL Rule

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Union government on Monday vowed stringent action against India's largest airline IndiGo, after mass flight cancellations over the past week stranded travellers across the country. However, while the Centre claimed IndiGo had never raised any concerns about the new pilot rest rules, the airline stated that it had indeed requested more time to comply.

Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu claimed IndiGo had already flown under the new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules in all of November, rejecting the airline's attempt to link the December disruption to its rollout. He asserted that the meltdown stemmed from IndiGo's own operational failures, not regulatory changes. IndiGo did not raise any red flag about the new rostering norms when a review was done in December, Naidu said.

"On 1 December, we had a meeting with IndiGo on FDTL itself when they required some clarifications. We have given the clarifications with that idea and they have not flagged this issue. Everything was running normal till then," Naidu said.

“So, there was one full month of operations in the new FDTL norms... There have been a lot of internal complications. This is a day-to-day operations thing that IndiGo should have maintained. IndiGo was supposed to manage the crew, was supposed to manage the roster as part of their day-to-day operations. We are supposed to check if FDTL norms are maintained or not. And there has been no compromise on that,” the minister said in Rajya Sabha.

“All airlines, and not just IndiGo, came back to the DGCA for variations depending on their nature of operations,” he said.“And post safety risk assessment, necessary variations, necessary exemptions were given beforehand itself.”

Also Read | Split up IndiGo? Either way, prepare Indian aviation for another takeoff

To be sure, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows IndiGo had cancelled 1,232 flights in November, a number which shot up to approximately 4,000 in December.

The government is not taking the crisis lightly, Naidu said. "We are doing an inquiry... We will set an example for all airlines. If there is any non-compliance and non-adherence, we will take strict action,” Naidu said.

Every day, 2,300 IndiGo flights take off, making it India's largest airline with a market share of around 60%.

The new FDTL norms were implemented following a Delhi High Court order, and the DGCA held continuous consultations with airlines from 1 November, Naidu said. The ministry took note of the cancellations on 3 December and swung into action, he said, just two days after a meeting with IndiGo.

Also Read | IndiGo Chaos: How a pilot fatigue row landed DGCA in high court IndiGo's response

IndiGo, however, said it had been in talks with the regulator as it struggled to follow the new Phase II FDTL rules. In its response to a DGCA show cause notice, the airline said it had requested relaxations in FDTL rules, or more time to comply.

“IndiGo notes they had been engaging with the DGCA regarding challenges in implementing the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) Phase II and were seeking variations, exemptions, or extensions,” the statement said on Monday.

IndiGo said that it is“realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” of the collapse at this time due to the complexity and vast scale of operations.

The airline said the disruption resulted from a combination of factors including minor technical glitches, schedule changes linked to the start of the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system, and implementation of and operation under the updated crew rostering rules. The response was signed by the airline's chief executive officer and chief operating officer.

The airline has asked for 15 days to respond, a timeframe allowed under the DGCA manual for show-cause notices, to carry out a full root-cause analysis, following which it will share the complete report.

Also Read | Too big to fail: Why IndiGo cancellations turned into a national crisis

However, experts believe that the rule should be applied uniformly to all airlines.

“You cannot keep seeking extensions on norms that are being implemented through orders from a court-the rules apply uniformly to all,” said Capt. Shakti Lumba, an aviation expert.“And just because IndiGo wants relaxation, they cannot keep not following the law. It is for the government to take a clear stand now, since the two versions-of the government and airline-are contradicting one another.”

“It does not matter who is lying. The government is taking a tough stance after it provides IndiGo with relaxation. It makes no sense. First, the winter schedule was cleared by the DGCA, which means some level of scrutiny there was overlooked. Or, IndiGo simply misled the regulator. Either way, both are at fault,” said aviation safety expert Mark D. Martin, chief executive of Martin Consulting.

The new FDTL norms, which relate to pilot fatigue and directly impact flight safety, were implemented in two phases. Of the 22 norms, 15 came into effect 1 July onwards, and the remaining seven, from 1 November.

The first phase related to weekly rest periods for pilots, and adjustment of their leaves with these rest periods. The second phase related to defining night duty timelines, restricting night time landings to two instead of six, and limiting night duty to two consecutive nights a week, thereby pushing up the requirement for more pilots across airlines.

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