Increase Efficiency Or Risk Losing Customers, Warns Aviation Minister

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia issued a stern warning to airlines on Thursday, cautioning them to enhance their efficiency or face the risk of losing customers. He emphasised that the government would take stringent measures against airlines that fail to comply with regulations pertaining to passenger rights. 

In a meeting with CEOs of various airlines, including Pieter Elbers of IndiGo, Campbell Wilson of Air India, Vinod Kannan of Vistara and Aloke Singh of Air India Express, Scindia urged carriers to prioritise not only passenger volume but also operational efficiency. 

He stressed that growth should not compromise efficiency, expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs and advising airlines to introspect and make necessary improvements. 

The minister's remarks follow a significant disruption at Delhi Airport last Sunday due to dense fog, causing substantial delays for over 500 flights. The airport, India's busiest in terms of footfall, has been grappling with operational challenges this winter due to the closure of a runway for maintenance since September. 

Despite initial plans to reopen the runway on 15 December, the schedule was postponed twice, first due to the G20 summit and later due to a construction ban aimed at curbing pollution. 

In response to the disruptions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to better manage passengers during delays or cancellations caused by adverse weather conditions. 

The SOP includes a directive for airlines to cancel flights expected to be delayed for more than three hours. Minister Scindia emphasised that strict action would be taken against airlines found to be non-compliant. 

The DGCA has already imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India and Mumbai Airport for insufficiently trained pilots in low visibility conditions, including an incident where passengers of a delayed flight were observed eating on the tarmac at Mumbai Airport. 

Addressing concerns about passenger mishandling, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers stated that the airline is working on reinforcing its standard operating procedures among employees to prevent such incidents in the future. Elbers acknowledged the challenges faced by IndiGo in the past two weeks, particularly due to fog affecting nearly one-third of the airline's flight operations over North India. 

He assured a comprehensive review of operations to avoid disruptions, mentioning recent updates to the navigation system.