IndiGo cancels over 60 flights from Bengaluru despite CEO claiming operations stable

Mumbai: IndiGo on Wednesday cancelled over 60 flights from Bengaluru Airport, despite Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers claiming on December 9 that the airline's operations were back on track.

IndiGo has cancelled 61 flights on Wednesday, including 35 arrivals and 26 departures, a source said.

On Tuesday, after the government slashed IndiGo's winter flight schedule by 10 per cent or around 220 flights of the nearly 2,200 approved per day, and IndiGo cancelled 460 flights from six metros alone, Elbers claimed that the airline was "back on the feet" and its operations were "stable."

He also said that lakhs of customers have already received their full refunds, without giving any specific numbers, but remained tight-lipped on the issue of compensation to those whose flights were abruptly cancelled, hugely delayed or rescheduled without their consent.

As per the Civil Aviation Ministry's passenger charter, airlines are liable to pay compensation to passengers for flight delays or cancellations under certain situations. Also, airlines have to provide this compensation automatically without passengers having to request it.

IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations, causing severe hardships for passengers, driving up airfares on other domestic carriers and creating chaos across airports pan-India.

After the situation, which started on December 1 continued till December 5, the government finally stepped in with the DGCA issuing show-cause notices to Elbers and IndiGo Chief Operating Officer Isidro Proqueras, who is also the Accountable Manager for the Rahul Bhatia-controlled airline, and also ordered capping of airfares.

On Tuesday, the government ordered a 10 per cent cut in the airline's winter schedule.

"The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline's operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10 per cent has been ordered. While abiding by it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said.

Earlier that day, the DGCA had issued a notice to the airline, ordering a 5 per cent cut in its schedule and asked it to submit the revised plan by Wednesday 5 pm.