Parliament panel likely to summon airline chiefs over IndiGo flight chaos

New Delhi: The major disruption in air travel across the country has prompted a Parliamentary panel to consider summoning top officials of private airlines and senior representatives of the aviation regulator.

Thousands of passengers were left stranded after IndiGo cancelled a large number of flights over the past six days.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, headed by JD-U MP Sanjay Jha, is expected to call senior executives from airlines along with officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The committee wants to understand what caused the cancellations and what steps are being taken to prevent such incidents in the future.

A member of the panel said that the committee is seriously concerned about the inconvenience caused to so many travellers.

Even several MPs, who were in Delhi for the Winter Session of Parliament, were affected by IndiGo’s cancellations and delays by other airlines.

According to the member, many MPs also received complaints from citizens about a sudden rise in airfares due to the ongoing disruptions.

On Sunday alone, IndiGo cancelled more than 220 flights at Delhi and Mumbai airports as the crisis continued for the sixth straight day.

The DGCA had already issued notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Porqueras, seeking an explanation for the large-scale disruptions.

IndiGo, in a statement on Sunday, said that the Board of InterGlobe Aviation, its parent company, has formed a Crisis Management Group to closely monitor the situation.

The company said the group is meeting regularly, and the Board of Directors is taking all possible steps to support affected passengers.

IndiGo has assured that refunds are being processed and efforts are underway to stabilise flight operations at the earliest.

IANS