IndiGo Fiasco: Allegation that airline engineered crisis untrue, says chairman

In his first public remarks since major operational disruptions began at IndiGo last week, the airline's chairman and non-executive independent director, Vikram Singh Mehta, said on Wednesday that the company did not attempt to bypass new pilot rest and duty norms. He also said that IndiGo will call on external technical experts to help the airline determine the root causes that led to the mass-flight cancellations. The cancellations, said Mehta, were "blemish" on the airline's clean record.

"The Company has erred. There is no denying this. It has now to build back your trust. This will not be easy. It will depend on actions not words. It will be a journey," he said.

Unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations: IndiGo Chairman

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Admitting that the airline faced major operational disruptions impacting many of its valued customers personally, Mehta said that on Deecmber 3, "an unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations". This continued into December 4 and 5, leaving thousands of the airline's passengers stranded.

"Many missed important family events, business commitments, medical appointments, and international connections. Baggage was delayed or misdirected. I know how much distress this caused. I want to say, very simply and very clearly. We are sorry," he said.

"I have been urged to make a statement. However, I chose to wait because the Board and I felt that our first duty was to support the CEO of IndiGo, Pieter Elbers and his team, restore operations, and help passengers who were affected," added Mehta.

IndiGo operations now stable: Chairman

The CEO has already announced, said Mehta, that the airline's operations are now stable.

• Today, IndiGo is operating Over 1,900 flights
• All 138 destinations are connected
• On-time performance back to normal high levels

"With this stability achieved, I feel this is the right time for me to speak," he said.

"I know an apology cannot make up for missed events, long waits, or the stress many of you experienced. But it is important for me to express our regret and acknowledge the disruption you faced. We did not meet your expectations during those days," he said.

"The fair criticism is that the airline let you down! We owe answers to our customers , to our Government, to our shareholders and equally importantly to our employees," added Mehta.

Mehta also said that some allegations against the airline are "untrue" and "incorrect", like IndiGo engineered the crisis, it tried to influence government rules, it compromised safety, and that its board was not involved.

"IndiGo has followed the pilot fatigue (FDTL) rules as they came into effect. We operated under the new rules throughout… both in July and November. We did not attempt to bypass them. Nor did we do anything that negatively impacted our unblemished track record of safety," he said.

Disruptions did not happen because of any deliberate action: IndiGo chairman

The disruptions, he said, occurred because of a combination of internal and unanticipated external events, and "this is not an excuse" but simply "the truth".

Following the first day of the disruptions, said Mehta, IndiGo held an emergency board meeting and set up a crisis management group. Since then, its board members have been in continuous contact with the management team, with the crisis management team meeting every day, he said.

IndiGo's collective focus, during this period, has been clear:

• Restore operations
• Support passengers
• Communicate transparently
• Prevent this from happening again
• The results are tangibly positive

He also stated that its operations are back to normal earlier than expected, with refunds worth several hundred crores of rupees having been processed already, and hotel and travel assistance provided. The remaining delayed baggage is now being delivered, he said.

"Here I must acknowledge a huge debt of gratitude to IndiGo’s pilots, cabin crew, engineers, all the front line staff, and employees working in the offices. Thank you for showing resilience and supporting each other through an intense period. Your work has been essential in bringing the network back to stability," he said.

"I express my gratitude to Government and regulators for their cooperation and support. I assure them, we remain committed to continuous improvement," noted Mehta.