Despite IndiGo Airlines cancelling over 1,000 flights and struggling with operational disruptions resulting in delays, the air carrier has not stopped bookings, which forces one to give a thought: how? Not in terms of service, but it has also hiked ticket charges manifold on the routes where it has already announced flight cancellations.
Airline has not grounded its entire fleet
The reason behind the continuation of ticket bookings is that the airline has not grounded its entire aircraft and it has not cancelled all 2,200 domestic and international flights, NDTV said in a report.
The airline was massively hit by schedule disruption, which led to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights on December 5, including all domestic flights from Delhi.
As the entire fleet is not grounded, the airline is accepting bookings on the routes, and it is expected to continue its operations in the upcoming days.
Airline issues tickets hoping operations normalise soon
No airline cancels flights several weeks before announcing a complete shutdown. IndiGo Airlines is tackling disruption on a daily basis and announcing cancellations, but for those flights scheduled to fly three or four days later, the airline is issuing tickets hoping that operations will become normal.
Mass cancellations shrink overall seats
As per estimates, IndiGo Airlines covers nearly 60 percent of the domestic aviation market. If there are mass cancellations of flights, it will shrink the availability of the total number of seats across all airlines, which will sustain the demand.
The gap between demand and supply gives an opportunity to flight ticket aggregators and airlines, leading to skyrocketing airfares. Passengers witnessed the same after flight cancellations and delays began with IndiGo.
DGCA orders 4-member committee to review causes
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday ordered the constitution of a high-level, four-member committee to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to widespread operational disruptions at IndiGo Airlines in recent days.
According to an official order, the DGCA noted that IndiGo failed to adequately prepare for the implementation of revised Duty Period, Flight Duty Period, Flight Time Limitations, and Prescribed Rest Periods under the FDTL CAR 2024.
