DGCA, IndiGo airline officials appear before parliamentary panel following recent cancellation chaos
NEW DELHI: Senior aviation officials and IndiGo Chief Operating Officer (COO) Isidro Porqueras on Wednesday appeared before the parliamentary panel examining the recent air traffic disruptions. The panel found the replies of the airline and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) unsatisfactory, evasive and unconvincing, sources said. According to the sources, before fixing the onus for the chaos that left thousands of travellers stranded across the country's airports, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sanjay Jha, has decided to wait for two weeks till the report of the ongoing inquiry of the Civil Aviation Ministry comes out. The officials and Indigo executives have been asked to submit their written replies, and the panel may summon them again after the release of the report, sources added. A team of officials led by IndiGo's Porqueras represented the airline, while Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha led the team of the ministry and DGCA. Four flight inspectors had no role in Indigo crisis: Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar | Interview The ministry has constituted a four-member committee to review the circumstances leading to the massive operational disruptions. Its report is expected to be submitted on December 28. Representatives of Air India, Air India Express, Akasha and SpiceJet also attended the nearly four-hour-long meeting. A few of the MPs questioned whether the ministry was unprepared for such a situation following the implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms or if it was an arms-twisting technique adopted by Indigo to get the exemption for the new routine, the sources said. The members said the panel has taken serious note of the difficulties faced by thousands of passengers due to disruption in air services. Even parliamentarians, who were in the national capital for the Winter Session of Parliament, faced the brunt of flight cancellations by IndiGo and delays by other airlines, a panel member said. Several MPs also received complaints from people about air fares shooting up due to the scenario. IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights for days beginning December 2 across the country. Aviation regulator DGCA has served notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Porqueras, seeking their explanation. Indigo flight crisis: Delhi HC refuses to entertain PIL seeking increased compensation to passengers
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