ALPA India Gen Sec raises security concerns over exemption to IndiGo from FDTL norms

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 9 : Captain Anil Rao, General Secretary of the Airline Pilots' Association (ALPA) India, flagged safety concerns over "temporary exemption" provided to IndiGo from certain Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Speaking to ANI, Rao advocated transparency regarding the reasons for massive flight delays and cancellations and said that IndiGo being granted a certain abeyance from FDTL norms to fulfil flight demands compromises safety.
"The root cause should be explained to the people. The issue is the chances of it happening again. Our concern is that DGCA allowing a temporary exemption from some FDTL rules compromises the safety. Today, we have one law for IndiGo and another for other operators. To fulfil the demands of the flights, we are compromising on safety, and that will not go very well with the flying public," he said.
"This was totally unwarranted and unexpected because passengers were not expecting it. The company is saying it is a miscalculation. We don't know what the miscalculation is because it hasn't been clearly stated where the miscalculation occurred or where the error happened. DGCA has formed a panel of its own officials who will look into this matter and provide a review," he added.
Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu held IndiGo's mismanagement regarding its crew, with respect to the new FDTL regulations issued by the DGCA, responsible for the disruption.
Speaking to ANI, he said the events that have unfolded in major airports led the Civil Aviation Ministry to grant IndiGo a certain abeyance from FDTL norms to ensure normalcy.
"From November 1, the DGCA came up with new FDTL (flight duty time limitation) regulations. The Ministry also initiated a continuous engagement process with the airlines for at least 6 months. Previously, there was no issue regarding the new FDTL norm. Other airlines, including Air India and Spice Jet, have adjusted. However, what has unfolded is due to mismanagement by IndiGo regarding its crew. We have given certain abeyance regarding FDTL norms to IndiGo to ensure normalcy," Naidu said.
The Civil Aviation Ministry and DGCA have been continuously monitoring the situation across all airports in real time since December 3, due to extraordinary circumstances arising from the disruption of IndiGo operations.
According to a statement from Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinarapu's Office, a high-level review meeting comprising all senior officials was held to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the situation.
All senior officials of the Ministry have been instructed to visit airports to verify airline operations and passenger-oriented services.
Any shortcomings identified, including feedback from passenger interactions, are to be addressed and rectified immediately, the statement said.
On Monday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told Rajya Sabha that the problems faced by IndiGo Airlines passengers were linked to the airline's internal crew rostering and operational planning and not the Aircraft Maintenance and Scheduling System (AMSS).
He added that thorough consultations have been held with all stakeholders concerning FDTL guidelines and emphasised that there will be no compromise on safety.
He said stringent Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) exist to protect passengers affected by flight delays and cancellations.
On December 6, DCGA issued show cause notices to IndiGo's Chief Executive Officer, Pieter Elbers, and its Chief Operating Officer, Isidro Porqueras.
This could ultimately affect the continuity of senior leadership at IndiGo, the rating agency said.
The airline's operations, which deliver cost efficiencies in stable times, did not demonstrate the resilience needed to withstand regulatory changes, leading to the cancellation of around 1,600 flights on December 5.IndiGo's on-time performance dropped to 68% in November from 84% in October, with over 1,200 cancellations in November.
However, the airlines claimed on Monday that they had optimised their operations.