India suspends new pilot rest policy after IndiGo cancels over 1,000 flights, admitting to planning gaps. Airline expects normal operations by mid-December.
NEW DELHI: India’s aviation ministry has suspended a new pilot rest policy following operational chaos and mass flight cancellations by the country’s largest carrier, IndiGo.
The ministry placed the “Flight Duty Time Limitations” rules in abeyance with immediate effect on Friday.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the decision was taken in the interest of passengers without compromising air safety.
He stated the ministry expected flight schedules to begin stabilising and returning to normal by Saturday.
IndiGo had cancelled all domestic flights from New Delhi and Chennai on Friday, apologising for the immense inconvenience caused.
The airline admitted to aviation regulators that “misjudgement and planning gaps” in adapting to the new rules led to the operational meltdown.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said Friday was the “most severely impacted day” with “well over a thousand” cancellations.
In a video statement, Elbers said the relaxation of the rules was “of great help” but there was “still lots of work in progress”.
He added that the company expected cancellations to fall below 1,000 on Saturday ahead of a return to normal between December 10 and 15.
The new rules had come into effect last month with the aim of giving pilots more rest periods to enhance passenger safety.
IndiGo, which commands 60% of India’s domestic market, operates over 2,000 flights daily.
Passengers vented frustration online, including Singapore’s ambassador to India, Simon Wong, who said he was “lost for words” after being stranded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s main opponent, Rahul Gandhi, blamed the fiasco on the government’s “monopoly model”.
The crisis is one of the biggest challenges faced by the no-frills airline, which has built its reputation on punctuality.
India is one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets, hitting 500,000 daily flyers last month for the first time.
