The All India Committee of the Centre for the Protection of Democratic Rights and Secularism (CPDRS) has strongly criticised the Central Government and IndiGo Airlines management, alleging systemic negligence that has triggered a nationwide air travel crisis with hundreds of flight cancellations and delays.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the organisation said the large-scale disruption was not a sudden operational setback but the outcome of prolonged cost-cutting measures pursued by the airline to maximise profits without adequate regulatory supervision. The CPDRS alleged that despite having more than a year to prepare for the implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), IndiGo failed to recruit and train sufficient pilots and crew, prioritising commercial gains over service standards and staff welfare.
The body further accused the airline of leveraging safety rule implementation to manufacture pressure on the regulator. The chaos has caused widespread inconvenience to lakhs of passengers, including senior citizens, patients, students and job seekers stranded across airports. Airfares on other carriers spiked sharply following cancellations, which CPDRS described as “opportunistic exploitation.”
The committee criticised the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for placing the new FDTL safety norms in abeyance, calling the move a “dangerous capitulation” that prioritises corporate interests over flight safety and risks fatigued pilots flying longer hours.
The CPDRS has demanded the immediate restoration of the FDTL norms, the imposition of the highest possible penalty on IndiGo for negligence and disruption, and the establishment of an independent inquiry into planning and management failures. It also called for comprehensive compensation for affected passengers.
The statement was signed by Dr. Jharnaben Pathak and Bhavik Raja.
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