Indian aviation in chaos over IndiGo crisis

In India, the aviation industry has been thrown into chaos after a series of flights by IndiGo - the country's largest airline - were cancelled over the past week, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

With 65% of the domestic aviation market share, low-cost airline IndiGo has helped many Indians realize their dream of flying over the years. But in the past week, everything has been turned upside down: about 2,000 flights have been canceled, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded at airports with piles of luggage.

A woman passenger said, "We were informed by IndiGo that our flight was cancelled. This caused a lot of trouble, because all the alternative flights were very expensive. The Air India flight cost 60,000 rupees, which was beyond our budget."

The main reason for IndiGo’s difficulties was its poor preparation to meet the new, stricter restrictions imposed by Indian authorities on pilot flight times and night flights. Although the situation has now improved, IndiGo expects operations to return to normal between December 10 and 15.

Mr. Charanvir Singh Randhawa - President of the Indian Pilots Federation shared: "The new regulations have left IndiGo in a pilot shortage situation. Previously, the airline had fewer flight frequencies so it thought it could operate with a limited number of pilots. Therefore, the reserve pilot team they used to have is no longer enough. Second, the arrangement and scheduling of pilots is not done systematically and reasonably."

Following the wave of cancellations by IndiGo, Indian authorities have imposed a price cap on airfares to stabilize the situation. One-way fares for journeys under 500 km cannot exceed 7,500 rupees ($83), while for journeys between 1,000 and 1,500 km, the price is capped at 15,000 rupees ($167). Several measures have also been implemented to support IndiGo.

Mr. Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu - Minister of Aviation of India said: "The recent disturbances at IndiGo stemmed from limitations in crew arrangements. Therefore, to restore normal operations soon, we have temporarily relaxed some regulations on flight time limits for IndiGo. However, realizing that this problem only occurs at IndiGo, the Government has set up an investigation committee to determine the specific cause and responsibility."

The current crisis is expected to significantly reduce IndiGo's revenue, with refunds reaching $68 million as of Sunday. As a result, IndiGo's shares plunged more than 7.5% on Monday, their biggest one-day drop in more than a year. And for India's booming aviation market, the incident has also raised concerns about the sustainability of the industry, which relies too heavily on a few large airlines like IndiGo.

Source: https://vtv.vn/hang-khong-an-do-hon-loan-vi-cuoc-khung-hoang-indigo-100251208224807762.htm