Rahul Gandhi blames IndiGo flight chaos on governments monopoly model
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised IndiGo's ongoing operational crisis, calling it a consequence of the governments monopoly model and asserting that India deserves fair competition in every sector, rather than match-fixing monopolies. The remarks came after IndiGo cancelled over 550 flights on Thursday and around 400 on Friday, severely disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers. Gandhi said ordinary Indians bear the brunt of the delays, cancellations, and helplessness caused by such mismanagement. IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt's monopoly model. Once again, it's ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness, the Leader of Opposition wrote in a post on X. He added, India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies. IndiGo informed the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), that operations are expected to be fully stabilised only by February 10, 2026. The airline also sought temporary relaxations in flight duty norms on a day when its widespread cancellations affected hundreds of passengers. Acknowledging that the disruptions over the past few days were primarily due to misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing the second phase of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, IndiGo informed the regulator that further cancellations are likely until December 8, after which services are expected to be reduced. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held a high-level review to assess the situation and expressed displeasure over the way IndiGo implemented the new FDTL norms, despite having ample time to prepare. The operator cancelled more than 400 flights, and a large number of flights were delayed at various airports on Friday, according to sources. Hundreds of passengers faced hardships at the airports as flights were delayed for long periods. The sources told news agency PTI that over 220 flights, including departures and arrivals, were cancelled at the Delhi airport, while more than 100 were cancelled at the Bangalore airport. At the Hyderabad airport, over 90 flights were cancelled, the sources said. There were also cancellations at other airports, and many flights were delayed. IndiGo has been grappling with operational disruptions due to cabin crew woes and other factors. (With inputs from PTI)
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