Indigo Fined Record $2.45 Million For December Flight Cancellations, Top Official Fired

India's aviation regulator on Saturday imposed a record fine of 222 million Indian rupees ($2.45 million; Dh8,997,625) on IndiGo for poor pilot roster planning by the airline that led to mass flight cancellations in December.

The regulator also issued warnings to senior personnel, including to Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras and to Jason Herter, senior vice president of operations control centre, with directions to IndiGo to relieve Herter "of current operational responsibilities".

A government source said the fine was the largest to date.

IndiGo has been ordered to provide a bank guarantee of $5.51 million in favour of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, to ensure "compliance with the directives and long-term systemic correction," the regulator said.

IndiGo said in a statement the board and management were "committed to taking full cognisance of the orders and will, in a thoughtful and timely manner, take appropriate measures".

India's largest airline cancelled about 4,500 flights in the initial weeks of December, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded all over the country and leading to chaos at airports.

The Chairman and Members of the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Limited on Saturday said that they are committed to taking full cognizance of the findings of the DGCA orders in relation to IndiGo's operational disruptions in December last year and "will take appropriate measures".

"We would like to take this opportunity to inform all of our stakeholders, particularly our valued customers, that the Board and the Management of IndiGo are committed to taking full cognizance of the orders and will, in a thoughtful and timely manner, take appropriate measures," Chairman and Members of the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Limited said in a message.

Additionally, an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of the internal processes at IndiGo has been underway since the disruption to ensure that the airline emerges stronger out of these events in its otherwise pristine record of 19+ years of operations, it said.

A four-member committee constituted by the DGCA examined the airline's operational planning, crew rostering, management oversight and software systems.

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