MUMBAI: Air travel across India was in turmoil for a fourth day on Friday (Dec 5) after IndiGo cancelled more than 1,000 flights, including all departures from New Delhi, prompting the government to announce special relief measures for the country’s largest airline.
In a bid to improve air travel safety, Indian authorities have introduced new stricter regulations limiting pilot flying times and placing tighter restrictions on their operation of night-time flights.
But IndiGo admitted it failed to plan properly ahead of a Nov 1 deadline for the measures’ introduction. And with air travel now approaching its December peak, that has forced widespread flight cancellations this week, which have stranded thousands of travellers.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers apologised to the airline’s customers in his first public remarks since the crisis began, adding: “I do understand that these disruptions … have shaken (customers’) belief in IndiGo’s reliability.”
Elbers added that it would take some time to return to a “full, normal situation”, and that it was anticipated this could be between Dec 10 and Dec 15.
Following a request by IndiGo, India’s civil aviation authorities granted it a temporary exemption from some of the new rules on Friday to help it deal with the crisis.
The head of India’s aviation regulator appealed to pilots for cooperation during the crisis, stressing that the body was committed to implementing the pilot rest and duty rules in “letter and spirit”.
IndiGo had earlier told Indian officials that it did not expect to fully restore operations until Feb 10, though on Friday it said there should be “progressive improvement” from Saturday.
Other major Indian airlines, including Air India and Akasa, have not had to cancel flights due to the new rules.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indigo-flights-cancelled-india-new-delhi-mumbai-5563446
