IndiGo Flight Cuts: IndiGo has vacated 717 of its slots at domestic airports following strict action by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The regulator had cut its winter schedule due to significant flight disruptions in December. The ministry has now invited applications from other airlines for these vacant slots. This decision will impact flights at several major airports across the country, including Delhi and Mumbai.
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IndiGo Flight Cuts: IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, has relinquished over 700 slots at domestic airports. This move follows the DGCA’s strict action, which ordered the airline to cut its winter flights. The entire matter stems from the massive disruption that occurred in early December last year. Fog and other factors caused significant flight delays. During that period, passengers were forced to wait for hours at airports, and thousands of flights were cancelled. Data shows that between December 3rd and 5th, approximately 2,507 IndiGo flights were cancelled and 1,852 were delayed, impacting over 300,000 passengers across the country.
In light of this disruption, the DGCA took a firm stance and reduced IndiGo’s winter schedule by 10 percent. This meant the airline would have to cancel some of its services. Following this order, IndiGo has now submitted a list of 717 vacated slots to the Ministry. A ‘slot’ is the fixed time given for landing and departure of an aircraft at an airport.
Metro cities most affected
The largest share of slots vacated by IndiGo are located in the country’s major metropolises. Sources indicate that 364 of the 717 slots are located in six major metro airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Of these, Hyderabad and Bengaluru are said to have the highest number of slots. These slots have been vacated for the period from January to March.
Responding to this situation, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has immediately responded and sought applications from other airlines. The government wants these slots vacated by IndiGo to be used by other airlines to avoid inconvenience to passengers. However, the Ministry has clearly instructed that no airline will close its existing routes to obtain these new slots.
The path for other airlines is also not easy.
Even though the government has invited other airlines, aviation experts believe that companies may not show much interest. There are two major reasons for this. First, network planning and launching new routes is a lengthy process, difficult to accomplish so quickly. Launching a new route and then closing it after just a month or two is not practical.
The second major reason is that most of the vacant slots are for ‘red-eye’ flights. These are flights that operate late at night or early in the morning. Passengers generally prefer not to travel during these times, so these slots are not considered very profitable for airlines.
DGCA Takes Strict Action
The DGCA appears to be taking a very strict stance this time regarding airlines’ arbitrariness. In addition to the slot cuts, the regulator also imposed a hefty fine of ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo on January 17 for operational deficiencies. The airline’s CEO, Peter Elbers, was also issued a warning. The matter did not end there; the DGCA also directed IndiGo to deposit a bank guarantee of ₹50 crore.
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