More Stories

Informist, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025

NEW DELHI – The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday relieved four flight operations inspectors who were hired on a contractual basis as the authorities grapple with the aftermath of the massive flight disruptions caused by cancellations by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s budget carrier IndiGo. 

The four officials whose services have been terminated with immediate effect are Rishi Raj Chatterjee, Seema Jhamnani, Anil Kumar Pokhriyal, and Priyam Kaushik, the regulator said in an order. According to media reports, these officials oversaw IndiGo and its preparations for the new rules on pilots and duty durations.

The officials, who are pilots, were tasked with auditing airlines and enforcing safety norms. The sacked officials can now join their respective parent organisations. 

IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights per day in the first week of December as the airline was caught unprepared to comply with the new Flight Duty Time Limitation norms. These rules were framed last year and were enforced in two phases -- from Jul. 1 and Nov. 1. They stipulate increased rest times for pilots and rationalised their flying hours.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has blamed IndiGo, which has a dominant 65% market share in the domestic market, for the crisis. "The crisis was a result of gross mismanagement by IndiGo only. There were some issues with their internal crew rostering system, which could have been avoided in compliance with the new norms under the Flight Duty Time Limitation guidelines, which unfortunately did not happen," India Today quoted Naidu as saying on Wednesday. "This is the reason why we saw the domino effect of flight cancellations on Dec. 3 and 4," he said.

Although IndiGo's operations have stabilised, the ministry has directed the airline to reduce its routes by 10% and has held multiple meetings with the airline's senior leadership. 

Naidu held a review meeting on Friday with officials from the DGCA, the Airports Authority of India, airport operators, airlines, and the Central Industrial Security Force to assess preparedness for the upcoming winter schedule. "All stakeholders have been instructed to ensure full compliance, fix accountability and implement strict SOPs for fog operations," Naidu said in a social media post. "Clear directions have been issued to ensure safe, seamless and well-coordinated operations, along with timely communication of updates to passengers to help them prepare well in advance," he said.  End

Reported by Anand JC

Edited by Saji George Titus

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.