IndiGo Crisis: CCI Seeks Details From Airline, DGCA Amid Probe Into Possible Unfair Practices

Competition Commission has sought information from IndiGo as well as aviation regulator DGCA in order to assess whether the country's largest airline indulged in unfair business practices against the backdrop of massive flight cancellations last month, according to sources.

In early December, IndiGo, the country's largest airline with a domestic market share of over 63%, faced operational disruptions that resulted in thousands of flights getting cancelled before the situation normalised.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) curtailed the airline's winter schedule by 10%, and its probe into the disruptions has been completed while the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had also taken cognizance of the situation.

The sources on Wednesday said the regulator has sent certain queries to IndiGo to gather more information as it looks into the business practices of the airline. Besides, information has been sought from DGCA, including on airfares, to have a better understanding of the sector before deciding on the next course of action, they added.

CCI keeps a tab on unfair competition in the marketplace, and as a first step, makes a prima facie assessment of a case. If there is a prima facie conclusion that the entity concerned has violated competition norms, then the regulator orders a detailed probe by its Director General (DG).

At present, in the case of IndiGo, the anti-trust watchdog is assessing whether there is prima facie evidence of anti-competitive practices.

CCI will be mainly looking at whether the airline abused its dominant position, violating the competition norms.

On Dec. 18, CCI, in a release, said it has taken cognizance of the information filed against IndiGo in the context of the recent flight disruptions witnessed in the aviation sector across various routes.

"Based on the initial assessment, the Commission has decided to proceed further in the matter in accordance with the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002," it had said.

On Dec. 19, CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur told PTI that based on specific information, the commission, on its initial assessment, decided to further look into the matter.

"We have information which has come to us, and based on that information, the matter was placed before the commission. The commission has taken a view that in the initial assessment, it looks like we can go into further detail," Kaur had said.