IndiGo Under CCI Lens After December Flight Meltdown Disrupts Aviation Sector

The Competition Commission of India has taken cognisance of information filed against India's largest airline IndiGo in the context of the recent flight disruptions witnessed in the aviation sector, the anti-trust regulator said in a press release on Thursday.

IndiGo holds over 60% operational market share in the Indian aviation industry, and therefore the disruptions in its operation could potentially bring the entire sector to a standstill.

Taking note of the severity of the matter and based on its initial assessment, CCI said it has decided "to proceed further in the matter in accordance with the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002."

In the beginning of December, IndiGo’s failure to adapt to new crew-rostering rules triggered widespread flight disruptions, leaving lakhs of travellers stranded at airports across the country.

At the centre of the crisis were regulations requiring pilots and cabin crew to get more rest, including 48-hour weekly breaks instead of 36 hours earlier and stricter limits on night landings.

The airline has been accused of failing to make arrangements to comply with the new rules. As a result, IndiGo was left short of crew, forcing it to ground more than half its fleet.

The airline on Thursday said that it will be operating over 2,200 flights today in line with the revised schedule.

Further, the statement mentioned that the airline has completely stabilised operations across the network from Dec. 9 onwards with over 1,800 flights. It added that it has been flying to all 138 operational destinations and maintaining normal on-time performance, as per IndiGo standards.

In a message to employees, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said the airline’s staff stood “tall and united” through the disruption, thanking pilots, cabin crew, airport teams, operations control centre staff, customer service teams and other functions for supporting passengers and stabilising operations.

“We weathered the storm together,” Elbers said, adding that the airline has now shifted its focus to three priorities — resilience, root cause analysis and rebuilding.