Government Issues Showcause Notice To IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers — Here's What It Says

The government on Saturday sent a show cause notice to IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers after a five-day disruption at domestic airports caused by the airline upended travel for thousands of people.

In a letter accessed by NDTV Profit, a senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said Elbers is responsible, as CEO, for ensuring effective management of the airlines.

"... you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities for the passengers," the letter said.

"You are hereby directed to show cause within 24 hours of receipt of this notice as to why appropriate enforcement action should not be initiated against you under the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules and Civil Aviation requirements for the above mentioned violations. Failure to submit your reply within the stipulated period shall result in the matter being decided ex parte," the letter said.

Normalcy is gradually being restored at airports across the country and all necessary facilities are provided to passengers, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said late Saturday. Flight check-in and check-out services are happening smoothly.

Earlier, IndiGo said it has re-established 95% of its network connectivity in terms of destinations. The carrier operated to 135 out of the 138 destinations on Saturday and is on course to operate over 1,500 flights by the end of the day, the airline said in a statement.

India largest airline had cancelled more than 1,500 flights in the past few days after a severe crew shortage and problems tied to new flight duty rules crippled its operations.  

The disruptions left thousands of passengers stranded at major airports, leading to massive backlash against the airline. Long queues at ticket counters, angry passengers, protests at major airports and a viral open letter by employees on the alleged mismanagement by the airline have deepened the IndiGo crisis.

Many travellers missed connecting flights and important events, including weddings, concerts and seminars amid the massive cancellations by IndiGo. The situation prompted the government to order a high-level inquiry and put the new norms on hold temporarily to restore flight operations.

Airlines had also been instructed to maintain ticket availability across all fare buckets and avoid any steep or unusual price hikes on sectors impacted by cancellations.