The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said IndiGo's top executives have responded to its showcause notices, and appropriate action would be taken after examining their response. The aviation authority noted they received the response at 6.01pm, a minute after the deadline ended.
In a statement, DGCA noted the response was signed by both the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the airline. IndiGo expressed "apology" and "regret" over the chaos caused by its erratic flight cancellations.
"IndiGo is 'profusely apologetic' and deeply regrets the inconvenience and hardship caused to customers," DGCA said, quoting the airline's statement. "Compounding effect of multiple factors which operated in an unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence" led to the chaos, according to the airline.
According to the airline, it is difficult to "pinpoint" the exact causes at this moment and sought 15 days' time, as per DGCA's manual, to provide an accurate response regarding 'Root Cause Analysis' (RCA).
IndiGo says these five causes led to the massive disruption in services: 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 (Flight Duty Time Limitation Phase II).
The airline said they have been engaging with the aviation authority regarding exemptions. "The disruptions began in early December when the compounding factors resulted in a lower on-time network performance, which affected crew availability," IndiGo claimed.
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IndiGo claimed it took the drastic measure of "rebooting" its network to "ease airport congestion and reposition crew/aircraft". Earlier in the day, the airline said a Crisis Management Group has been formed by IndiGo's board to address the situation.
Addressing questions related to the nationwide disruption in airline services, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said the airline has refunded Rs 827 crore as cancellation charges to affected passengers and has delivered over 4,000 pieces of luggage. Blaming the airline's internal system for the crisis, Naidu stressed stern action will be taken against the airline.
