NEW DELHI: Taking note of the days-long ordeal faced by passengers due to mass cancellation of IndiGo flights, the parliamentary panel on transport, tourism and civil aviation will soon summon all airlines and other stakeholders, including sector regulator DGCA and officials from aviation ministry. The panel, headed by Sanjay Kumar Jha of JDU, will not only seek explanations but also explore solutions to ensure that such disruptions do not occur again, sources said.TOI learnt that while some panel members themselves faced inconvenience due to sudden flight cancellations, others received calls detailing how the crisis derailed travel plans of thousands of passengers.
“This is an unprecedented situation in the history of India’s aviation sector. Both the airlines and the regulator will have to explain why such a situation occurred and why they failed to anticipate it,” said a member of the panel.Another member said the episode has exposed deeper systemic issues of the aviation sector, including manpower shortages, strained crew-management systems and gaps in regulatory oversight. The panel will also discuss how rival airlines ‘increased fares abnormally to make undue profit’.
