'IndiGo had to hire more pilots, but it failed': Shashi Tharoor blames airline, says it let the public down

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday expressed strong criticism of IndiGo, blaming the airline's ongoing chaos on its failure to meet staffing requirements, particularly in hiring enough pilots. Following massive flight cancellations and disruptions that have plagued IndiGo over the past three days, Tharoor said, this was most unfortunate.

"As far as I understand, the DGCA had given plenty of warning to the airlines about the new system of working hours and rosters, etc. This meant the airlines had to hire more pilots, but clearly they failed to do so, inflicting chaos on the travelling public. The airline needs to do some serious introspection...They have let down the public," the Congress leader said.

IndiGo, India's largest airline, has been grappling with severe operational disruptions, with over 700 flight cancellations on Friday alone. Thousands of passengers have been left stranded at airports, with some facing delays of over 12 hours. The flight disruptions are primarily attributed to a shortage of pilots. The shortage happened after implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, which came into effect in November.

The operational chaos, which entered its fourth day on Friday, has triggered protests from passengers, some of whom have also complained about misplaced baggage. In addition to the widespread cancellations, passengers reported that airfares for popular routes, such as Mumbai-Delhi, had soared to around Rs 60,000 on Thursday.

The airline, which operates around 2,300 flights daily, acknowledged the failure to meet staffing requirements and warned of more cancellations through December 8. IndiGo also informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that services will be reduced from that date onward as it continues to stabilize its operations. At a meeting reviewing the situation, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu expressed his displeasure over IndiGo’s mishandling of the new FDTL implementation despite having ample time to prepare.

To end the crisis, the aviation watchdog DGCA eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, no leave was to be substituted for weekly rest, which meant that weekly rest period and leaves were to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots. However, the DGCA has now decided to withdraw that provision.