IndiGo will do 'root cause analysis' into flight disruptions; focus now on stabilsing ops: Airline official

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) IndiGo will carry out a "root cause analysis" into the flight disruptions that has happened due to a combination of factors and the focus now is to stabilise operations, which is expected by December 10, a senior airline official said on Sunday.

Amid the lack of proper crew planning while implementing the new flight duty norms being cited as a key reason for the significant operational disruptions, the official said the airline has adequate number of pilots and there is no deficiency.

"Our pilot numbers are fine while we may not be have the luxury of having a buffer," the official told PTI.

He also said there has been no hiring freeze amid concerns being raised in certain quarters that lean-operating model might have led to the current situation.

IndiGo has been grappling with significant flight cancellations and disruptions in the last five days and the situation is getting better, with the number of cancellations coming down on Sunday.

The airline, which generally operates around 2,300 flights daily, expects to operate 1,650 flights on Sunday, higher than 1,500 flights that flew on Saturday.

"We will need a root cause analysis, which will obviously take time... the disruptions happened due to a combination of factors and which factor played how much role (will be known after the root cause analysis)," the official said.

Acknowledging that the current situation is a learning experience, the official emphasised that there was no question of inadequacy.

"We are normalising operations and full stability in operations is expected by December 10," the official said.

The second phase of the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms for pilots that provides for lesser number of night landings, came into force from November 1. Since then, there have been some operational disruptions at the airline and things turned for the worse this week.

Asked why other airlines are not facing similar issues, the official mentioned that for whatever reason, they had a better buffer than IndiGo in terms of the number of pilots.

"We did not have the same kind of buffer. But that does not mean that there is a question of inadequacy, no. These are two different things," the official said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued show cause notices to the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers and the Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras, seeking explanations for the flight disruptions.

On whether the current situation of disruptions could have been avoided, the official said, "We will do our root cause analysis... we will do that and then we will come to know (what was the) planning lapse, if at all".

For the fog season, the official said the airline is prepared and there are adequate number of aircraft and pilots. We are confident of managing the fog season. PTI RAM TRB