₹827 Crore in Refunds Issued as 4,500 Bags Returned to Passengers

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Ministry of civil aviation on Monday said that over 5.8 lakh passenegrs were imapcted by IndiGo’s crisis since last Tuesday. It also added that ₹827 crores in refunds were paid back to passengers impacted by cancellations between November 21 and December 7. Additionally, 4,500 pieces of baggage were delivered to the IndiGo passengers who were separated from their bags in the chaos.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: As many as 83 departures and 60 arrivals were cancelled from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Karnataka Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid IndiGo crisis as he remarked that while PM Modi once said people wearing Hawai chappals would be able to fly, now Hawai chappals are flying at officials in the airport.” He further alleged that the DGCA has fallen into a trap of duopoly and that the government’s lack of accountability is hurting citizens.

“DGCA has unwillingly fallen into the trap of duopoly. The lack of response (of IndiGo) and lack of responsibility of the government is hurting the citizens more. PM Modi said a person wearing Hawaii slippers will be flying while today, Hawaii slippers are flying at the officials at the airport…,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Air India CEO Campbell Wilson expressed gratitude to the staff for supporting travelers and colleagues as crisis within IndiGo, India largest airline, left passengers looking for alternate travel options. “It has been an extremely busy few days for many of you, and I want to convey my deep appreciation for the effort you are making to support travellers and colleagues,” Campbell said.

Urging the employees to support industry colleagues, Campbell said, “The assistance and empathy we can provide at this challenging time makes a genuine difference to others, and I have been touched by many stories of Air Indians stepping up to the occasion,”

IndiGo flights cancelled live: IndiGo shares further declined to slump 8% on Monday as the country’s biggest airline continues to reel from an operational crisis that has led to mass flight cancellations and the threat of regulatory action. Since the onset last week of what has become a trial for many of its customers and a PR nightmare for the company, its stock losses now total 16%. That’s wiped about $4 billion off its market cap, valuing the company at around $21 billion, Reuters reported.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Centre for the IndiGo crisis that has left thousands of passengers high and dry amid mass cancellation of flights since last Tuesday. “People are facing immense difficulties because flights are not available. I believe this situation has arisen due to a complete lack of planning. This is a disaster. The Centre is responsible,” Mamata was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. “They should have arranged alternatives earlier. I even feel passengers may go to court over this,” she added.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: A Crisis Management Group has been set up to monitor the ongoing crisis of the IndiGo airlines and is conducting daily meetings on the updated situation, PTI reported. The CMG was constituted during the first meeting on December 4 and has been meeting daily to closely monitor all matters related to the current situation. The officials highlighted that the CMG’s key priorities include restoring 100 percent operational integrity, ensuring the timely flow of information, expediting refunds and rescheduling of flights, and facilitating the return of passenger baggage.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Sena UBT MP Arvind Sawant slammed IndiGo’s management over recent flight cancellations as he called their practices “crooked” and accused the airline of misleading passengers. He also held the government largely responsible for the disruption. “IndiGo’s management is highly crooked. I’ve experienced it myself… They’re total turncoats. I’ve seen how they lie… I don’t believe it’s the DGCA’s fault. They told them 18 months ago that they had to do it later. Yet, at that time, they held the entire nation hostage, and the government is more responsible for that. What can the common citizen of the country do? The economy class ticket from Mumbai to Delhi costs ₹62,000… This looting is going on. Everyone else is watching,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a probe is underway over IndiGo’s cancellation chaos and that an action will be taken to “set an example” for all airlines.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: The ministry of civil aviation said on Monday that IndiGo plans to operate 1,802 of its 2,300 daily flights to 137 of its 138 destinations, with nearly 500 cancellations for the day.

Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu also addressed the ongoing IndiGo crisis in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, saying the problems faced by passengers were linked to the airline’s internal crew rostering and operational planning and defended the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) that came into effect in November.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: In a fresh status update posted on Monday, the crisis-hit IndiGo said that its board members meet regularly since the crisis began. It added that the priority for the crisis management group (CMG) is to:

• Restore 100% operational integrity
• Ensure timely information flow
• Expedite full refund/rescheduling
• Expedite return of baggage

“We continue to work round the clock to bring the network to full capacity,” it added.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: At the Bengaluru airport, IndiGo cancelled 127 services, which included 65 arrivals and 62 departures, airport officials told HT.

The airline earlier said that it expects its network to return to normal by December 10. CEO Pieter Elbers said IndiGo is recovering from the disruptions as it adjusts to the impact of the new FDTL rules.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: At the Delhi airport, 134 flights were cancelled, which included 75 departures and 59 arrivals, officials told HT.

Meanwhile, at the Bengaluru airport, the airline cancelled 117 services, which included 65 arrivals and 62 departures, they added.

IndiGo has come under pressure from both the government and passengers after cancelling hundreds of flights since December 2 because of changes in the pilots’ flight duty and regulation norms. The situation has left lakhs of travellers stranded at airports across the country.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: A passenger at Delhi’s IGI airport spoke about his ordeal with ANI after his third scheduled flight was cancelled on Monday.

He said, “They cancelled my third flight. I was originally supposed to go from Lucknow to Bangalore, but they told me the flight was cancelled and that I should book on Monday. So I booked on Monday and followed their instructions. They said I’d get a flight on Monday and also told me to go to Delhi. I just arrived in Delhi. This morning, they’re saying my flight back is cancelled. They’re not picking up the phone, replying properly, or giving us accurate information about anything.

When asked if he received any other type of support, he said, “There’s no support. They were laughing at the Lucknow airport. They weren’t taking it seriously. People sitting next to me were crying, yet they were laughing and joking.”

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday informed the Parliament that the IndiGo airlines flagged no issues in a meeting held on December 1, just one day before the airline started cancelling its flights on a large scale.

“The IndiGo crisis happened due to problems in its crew rostering and internal planning system,” Naidu said while answering a question by MP Pramod Tiwari.

When the airline’s big stake in the aviation sector was raised in Rajya Sabha, Naidu said the government encourages more players to join in. “I want more players in the industry. Today, India has a capacity of five big airlines and there has been an effort from the ministry to encourage more airlines,” he said.

Read the full story here.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: In his reply to MP M Thambidurai in Rajya Sabha regarding the surge in airfares due to IndiGo flight cancellations, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that a total of 5,86,705 cancellations were made, for which ₹569 crore had been given.

“Regret the inconvenience to those who were traveling in the last two -three days. We have 5,86,705 cancellations for which ₹569 cr have been given,” he said.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: In his reply to MP Milind Deora on IndiGo having more than 60 per cent market share in aviation industry, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that India has the capacity of five big airlines.

He said: “I want more players in the industry. India today has a capacity of five big airlines, and that has been an effort from the ministry to encourage more airlines.”

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu blamed IndiGo’s internal system while responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha raised by MP Pramod Tiwari.

“IndiGo crisis happened due to problems in its crew rostering and internal planning system,” he said.

He added that there was no issue with the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules and added that IndiGo did not flag any problem during the meeting held on December 1.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee called the IndiGo crisis a ‘disaster’ and attacked the BJP-led government, saying that they are ‘not interested in matters related to the people’.

She said, “What is the alternative for the public? It is most unfortunate that the maximum number of flights have stopped. This is a disaster. Thousands of passengers are stranded in airports. They are feeling mentally tortured. I ask the Government of India to make a plan to resolve this. The BJP government is not interested in matters related to the country and the people. But the BJP cares only about how to capture institutions.”

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which operates India’s largest airline IndiGo, fell sharply after the civil aviation regulator asked CEO Pieter Elbers to explain one of the country’s worst air disruptions after a wave of cancellations last week.

The stock slid by as much as 7.6 per cent on Monday, heading for its biggest fall in more than a year, and marking a seventh straight day of decline that has together wiped out about $4.3 billion from the company’s market value, Bloomberg reported.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: Air India on Monday said it has begun the roll out of new fares, complying with a direction from the government to all airlines to monitor their flight ticket prices.

Not only has the airline capped its flight ticket prices, it has also announced that passengers who have already booked Air India flights in Economy Class during the transition period at prices above the prescribed caps can get refunded for the difference amount. Full story here.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: The Director General of Civil Aviation issued a show-cause notice Saturday demanding CEO Pieter Elbers explain the cancellations that affected almost half of its flights the day before, adding that “you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers.”

It granted IndiGo’s accountable manager and chief executive officer a one-time 24-hour extension to submit their response to the notice issued on December 6 over large-scale operational disruptions and observed non-compliances. According to the official statement, the two IndiGo functionaries sought more time in a request dated December 7.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: IndiGo’s operational crisis continues to disrupt passengers’ travel plans as more than 400 flights have been cancelled for today in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and other airports. Among them, Delhi and Bengaluru are the worst-hit with more than 100 flight cancellations each.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport reported the highest cancellations so far, with 75 departures and 59 arrivals, making a total of 134 flights called off.

At Bengaluru Airport, 127 IndiGo flights were cancelled, which included 65 arrivals and 62 departures.

Hyderabad Airport also faced a major impact, with 77 IndiGo flights disrupted today. This included 38 arrivals and 39 departures, according to airport authorities. Meanwhile, 71 flights were cancelled in Chennai, which included 38 departures and 33 arrivals.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking ground support and refunds for passengers affected by the IndiGo flight crisis.

The court has now agreed to take up the matter on Wednesday, although it said that the Government has already issued some directions on the issue.

“It will be listed on Wednesday,” the bench said.

IndiGo flights cancelled live: The top court said that the Centre had taken cognisance of the issue. The plea was brought up by an advocate who said that around 2,500 flights had been delayed at 95 airports across the country

“We understand that lakhs of people are stranded. Maybe some people have urgent work, and they are not able to… But then the government of India has taken cognisance of the issue. Timely steps appear to have been taken. We don’t see any urgency right now,” CJI Kant said.

Read full story here.