Airline crisis and after

Afterthe liberalisation of1991, the Government replaced controllers with regulators in most sectors. They were expected to guide their respective sectors to accelerated growth by promoting competition~withthe additional mandate of protecting the interests of all stakeholders. Sadly, none of these goals has been realised, with virtual duopolies emerginginmany sectors, includingcriticaloneslike telecom and aviation

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Cancellation of around 5,000 flights in a week's time in peak season, resulted in widespread chaos, with irate passengers venting their ire on hapless airline staff in impossibly crowded airport terminals, mountains of luggage clogging airports, airfares skyrocketing for flights that were taking off, tariffs of hotels going through the roof ~ leading to disruptions in wedding celebrations, concerts, meetings, conferences, sports events, and the like. Strange scenes unfolded, like a bride and groom attending their own wedding reception virtually, and glitterati, who would rather die but not travel by train, begging for train tickets.

The fact that this nationwide mayhem was caused by a minor change in pilot rest rules, and the cancelled flights were of only one airline, Indigo, points to a deeper malaise. To recount: the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), the designated regulator for civil aviation sector, notified an amendment in Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules in January 2024, that provided for more rest period for pilots. The amended rules were supposed to apply from 1 June 2024. All airlines opposed DGCA's move, and it was decided that the new rules would be rolled out in two stages ~ partly on 1 July 2025, and the rest on 1 November 2025. Again, an extension till December was given.

It appears that during the last two years, Indigo had added more routes and aircraft, but instead of hiring more pilots to implement the new rules, Indigo lobbied to roll back implementation of the rules, or at least have them delayed. With no advance preparation, implementation of the new rules was not possible for Indigo; faced with a greatly reduced availability of pilots, Indigo had no option but to cancel thousands of flights.