NEW DELHI: Top representatives of airlines, aviation ministry and regulator DGCA will appear on Dec 17 before a parliamentary committee, which is set to question them on the days long ordeal faced by thousands of fliers due to mass-cancellation of flights by IndiGo due to its unpreparedness after a new rule for more rest for pilots kicked in.The meeting of standing committee on transport, tourism & culture headed by JDU MP Sanjay Jha is expected to pose tough questions to not only IndiGo, India’s largest airline that commands 63% market share, over the fiasco but also DGCA over its inability to anticipate the crisis that derailed travel plans of people, including Parliamentarians.The committee’s deliberations will happen against the backdrop of the widely held suspicion, subject of investigation by directorate general of civil aviation and the ministry, that IndiGo remained resistant to the implementation of guidelines which are consistent with global norms and are aimed at ensuring flyers’ safety by allowing pilots enough resting time, and sought the determent of their implementation. It has been acccused of engineering the disruption to force, leveraging its market dominance, the ministry to roll back the Flight Duty Time Limitation regulation as implementing them would have required it to hire more pilots. Faced with chaos caused by the disruption of IndiGo’s operations, DGCA had to relax the implementation of the guidelines.Airlines management is reported to have denied the allegation in the meetings with the civil aviation ministry.
