Indigo Appoints Chief Aviation Advisors Company For Independent Review Of Flight Disruption

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

IndiGo, which saw nearly a week of widespread flight cancellations, has now appointed Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, an aviation consulting company. to conduct "an independent expert review".

The company, led by Captain John IIIson, a veteran aviation expert, will asses the contributing factors of the recent operational disruption. According to the airline, the objective is to "conduct an independent root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption, besides opportunities for improvement."

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Earlier, in its response to a show-cause notice, IndiGo had asked for more time to conduct a comprehensive 'Root Cause Analysis' as per Director General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) manual which allows a 15-day response timeline.

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The appointment of the aviation consulting company comes after a recommendation by the Crisis Management Group, constituted by the IndiGo Board. The Board approved the move, and the review is set to begin at the earliest.

Chief Aviation Advisors LLC will submit a comprehensive report to the IndiGo Board after completing the independent review.

Captain Illson, who leads the company, brings more than four decades of aviation experience across the FAA, ICAO, IATA and major global carriers.

Thousands of flights cancelled

Airports were flung into mayhem as Indigo left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, with thousands of flights cancelled for nearly a week. Viral videos resurfaced as a couple were forced to attend their own wedding reception online. A grieving widow with her husband's caske t was among the passengers stranded.

December 5 saw the largest number of flight cancellations, with over 1,000 flights, which amount to half of the airline's fleet cancelled. However, these flight cancellations served as a "reboot" to align crew and planes to start afresh the next day, and solve this crisis, the airline's CEO said.

IndiGo issued multiple apologies, full refunds for all cancelled flights, and pledged to deliver passengers' luggage to them. The airline said that they have been steadily resuming operations and normalcy.

What were the reasons IndiGo stated?

IndiGo addressed the issue in a statement to the press, acknowledging the widespread problem and attributing it to a multitude of factors,. They said these factors worked together to have a "negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated":

• Minor technology glitches

• Schedule changes linked to the winter season

• Adverse weather conditions

• Increased congestion in the aviation system

• Implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations)

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