Indigo’s ‘cancel culture’: Is India’s aviation sector jinxed?
Jagriti Chandra speaks to us about the operational lapses behind Indigo’s mass cancellations, and what this fiasco says about competition and accountability in Indian aviation.
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Show Notes
Indigo’s mass cancellations have disrupted the lives of thousands of passengers. This company is not a newbie or a start-up. It is India’s largest airline, with 60% market share. In Financial Year 2024, it returned a profit of ₹8,000 crores. So, finances were not a concern.
Yet, it did not invest in preparing for the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms that kicked in from November 1. Following the mess with the cancellations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has now created special Oversight Team which will be stationed at the Indigo headquarters and audit its operations.
Why didn’t Indigo prepare for the new FDTL norms? Could this operational crisis have been averted if it had hired pilots on time? Or is it true, as some analysts are claiming, that India’s aviation sector is inherently uncompetitive, and the odds are stacked against the airlines? We get to the bottom of the Indigo fiasco in this InFocus episode.
Guest: Jagriti Chandra, The Hindu’s aviation correspondent.
Host: G. Sampath
Edited and produced by Sharmada venkatasubramanian
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