With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
Long queues, passengers in tears, and repeated flight cancellations created a morning of severe disruption at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Saturday, as IndiGo continued to face nationwide operational delays.
Taking a serious note of the situation, the civil aviation ministry said it has invoked regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
Passengers may think they are just booking a ticket, but airlines' clever design tricks are quietly picking their pockets.
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad received a threat email claiming a 'human bomb' on an IndiGo flight from Jeddah, leading to its diversion to Mumbai where it landed safely. Authorities are investigating the threat.
The DGCA has revised air ticket refund norms, allowing passengers to cancel or change tickets without additional charges within 48 hours of booking, subject to conditions. The new rules also address name correction fees and medical emergency cancellations.
An IndiGo flight from Kuwait to Hyderabad was diverted to Mumbai following a bomb threat email. The flight landed safely, and security checks were conducted.
The vehicle hit the 'undercarriage of the non-operational aircraft', the airport spokesperson said.
IndiGo is only behind Qatar Airways, which grew slightly faster at 10.4 per cent in the same period, according to the latest data from Official Airline Guide (OAG) based on 20 top airlines in the world.
'India is giving selective traffic rights wherever it makes sense to allocate those traffic rights.'
The aircraft was taken to a separate bay (Bay No 95) for parking and passengers later safely disembarked. Currently, arrangements are being made to replace the windshield, they said.
The country's largest airline IndiGo on Tuesday reported a loss of Rs 2,582.10 crore in the September quarter as higher forex losses and expenses impacted the bottom line, and it expects to induct the first long range Airbus A321 XLR aircraft in December. The airline, which had a loss of Rs 986.7 crore in the year-ago period, said hedging actions and more revenues in foreign currencies from international operations will help cushion the currency movements.
Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport, leading to numerous cancellations and diversions. Airlines are working to manage the situation and minimize inconvenience to passengers.
Indian airlines are resuming normal services to Kathmandu after the airport reopened following unrest in Nepal. Air India and IndiGo will operate additional flights to bring back stranded passengers.
'It has got to be the biggest error in aviation. If it is the biggest error, then all those individuals in positions of power should be removed because they have caused the biggest meltdown in Indian aviation history.'
IndiGo promoter Rakesh Gangwal's family trust on Thursday sold a 1.3 per cent stake in the country's largest airline for Rs 2,933 crore through open market transactions, cumulatively offloading shares worth Rs 14,497 crore so far this year. With the latest sale, the cumulative divestment by Rakesh Gangwal, along with his wife Shobha Gangwal and their family trust -- the Chinkerpoo Family Trust -- stood at Rs 39,532.79 crore, translating to around $4.51 billion.
IndiGo, which operates the largest fleet among Indian carriers, has reported the highest number of serious engine-related incidents.
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Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai on Friday requested the cooperation of all pilots to ensure smooth flight operations amid massive IndiGo flight disruptions.
The country's largest airline IndiGo on Wednesday reported a 20 per cent decline in profit after tax at Rs 2,176.3 crore for the June quarter as airspace curbs and overall challenging operating environment crimped its bottom line even as the carrier flew 12 per cent more passengers during the period.
According to Indigo, the flight finally landed safely in Bengaluru at about 8.20 pm on June 19.
Most Indian airlines recorded a rise in average flying hours per pilot after the Covid period.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday issued a travel advisory as dense fog gripped Northern India, urging passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport to avoid prolonged waiting periods at the airport in case of flight cancellations or delays.
"Microsoft Windows reports major service outages globally. IT services/ check in systems at airports are impacted," as per a message for the passengers at the Varanasi airport.
The incident occurred in the flight 6E138 and after landing, the perpetrator was handed over to the security authorities at the Kolkata airport, the source said.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Sunday issued an advisory warning that fog conditions in parts of northern India are affecting visibility and may lead to delays or changes in flight operations at select airports.
Flyers faced a double blow as air fares on Air India flights out of Delhi and those of SpiceJet soared past Rs 1 lakh one-way on some routes, and even those showed 'sold out' despite the airlines adding capacity.
Ash clouds from the recent eruption of the HayliGubbi volcano in Ethiopia are impacting flight operations, and there are reports suggesting that clouds might also be drifting towards the western parts of India.
According to the latest data from the aviation regulator DGCA, IndiGo and Air India did not cancel any flights, while Air India Express cancelled four flights due to the system modification process.
Dense fog disrupted operations at Delhi airport, leading to cancellations and delays of hundreds of flights. Airlines are offering refunds and rescheduling options.
Nearly three decades after the ambitious project was first conceived to decongest the existing airport in the financial capital, the greenfield Navi Mumbai International Airport became a reality on Thursday as an IndiGo Airbus A320 from Bengaluru landed on the tarmac at 8 am amid a traditional water cannon salute.
As many as 338 A320 family aircraft operated by Indian airlines require the software upgrade to address a potential issue related to flight controls, and modifications have been carried out in more than half of the affected fleet, according to DGCA data.
The development also comes against the backdrop of Turkiye backing Pakistan and condemning India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country earlier this month.
The perpetrator was also declared as unruly by the airline, the source added.
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa made an emergency landing in Mumbai due to an engine failure. Passengers were transferred to an alternative aircraft.
In recent times, there have also been instances of GPS spoofing and interference incidents at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports.
China Eastern Airlines has resumed its Shanghai-Delhi service after a five-year gap, marking the first mainland Chinese carrier to restore direct flights to India this year. The resumption follows the resolution of border tensions and aims to boost trade, economic, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
IndiGo will start direct flights to a total of 10 international destinations, including London and Athens, in the current financial year, its CEO Pieter Elbers said on Friday. Other destinations include Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Manchester (the UK), Copenhagen (Denmark) Siem Reap (Cambodia) and four places in Central Asia.
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