Govt To Consider Indigo Capacity Curbs Only After Airline Submits A Plan: Aviation Minister

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has said that the central government will consider IndiGo capacity curbs once the airline presents a plan, outlining how it intends to stabilise operations. The clarification on easing curbs on IndiGo comes a day after the ministry ordered the country's largest airline to cut its flight operations by 10%, following days of widespread cancellations and delays.

Speaking with India Today, the aviation minister also noted that the IndiGo chairman, who released a video rejecting all allegations against the airline, left“many questions unanswered” amid a crisis review.

“IndiGo chairman has not answered many questions in his video on Wednesday,” Ram Mohan Naidu said, adding that the ministry was“analysing each and every aspect of the crisis, including price gouging by airlines...availability of planes is a bottleneck in more airlines setting up shop in India.”

IndiGo Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta broke his silence since last week's wave of flight cancellations and delays, calling the disruption a“blemish” on the airline's otherwise clean record.

Also Read | IndiGo offers ₹10,000 travel voucher for 'severely impacted' flyers

In a video message to IndiGo customers, the chairman dismissed allegations that the disruptions were engineered by airline management and insisted that no attempt was made to bypass the new pilot fatigue and rest rules known as Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules.

Apologising for mass disruptions and denying allegations linked to pilot fatigue rules, Vikram Singh Mehta said,“IndiGo has followed the pilot fatigue (FDTL) rules as they came into effect. We operated under the new rules throughout both July and November. We did not attempt to bypass them. Nor did we do anything that negatively impacted our unblemished track record of safety.”

Rejecting allegations that mass disruptions were engineered by the IndiGo management, Vikram Mehta said,“The disruptions of last week did not happen because of any deliberate action. They happened because of a combination of internal and unanticipated external events, including minor technical glitches, scheduled 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 IndiGo chairman continued that while some of the criticism directed at IndiGo was fair, much of it was not, as he sought to dismiss allegations that the airline attempted to influence government regulations.

“I know how much distress this caused...We are sorry! I know an apology cannot make up for missed events, long waits, or the stress many of you experienced.”

MENAFN11122025007365015876ID1110466769