New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has dismissed four Flight Operations Inspectors who were directly responsible for overseeing IndiGo, as the fallout from the airline’s large-scale disruptions continues. All four FOIs are from Air India.
The action taken on Friday, December 12, comes as thousands of passengers remain affected by widespread cancellations.
FPJ
DGCA Directs IndiGo to Speed-Up Hiring
IndiGo has been directed by the aviation regulator to accelerate its pilot recruitment process, and the airline has launched an aggressive hiring push to bring on nearly 900 pilots over the next year. The move aims to stabilise operations after recent disruptions linked to the stricter Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms, which must be fully implemented by February 2026.
To meet the deadline, IndiGo is fast-tracking Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA) approvals and onboarding both captains and first officers at an expedited pace so the network can return to normal.
Eight-Member Monitoring Team Formed
Alongside the sackings, the Civil Aviation Ministry has set up an eight-member oversight team to monitor airports and airline functioning across the country. The team, drawn entirely from the DGCA’s administration wing, will keep daily watch on operational performance and passenger welfare.
The officials on the team include Captain Vikram Sharma, Deputy Chief Flight Operations Inspector; Captain Kapil Mangalik, Senior Flight Operations Inspector (SFOI); Capt VP Singh (SFOI); Apoorva Agarwal (SFOI); Swati Loomba (SFOI); Aman Suhag (SFOI); Nitya Jain (FOI); and Capt N J Singh (FOI).
Two officers will be stationed each day at IndiGo’s Gurugram corporate office to review fleet deployment, crew utilisation, pilots under training, network planning, unplanned leave, affected sectors and availability of standby crew in both cockpit and cabin.
A separate pair of officers, Aishveer Singh, Deputy Director, and Mani Bhushan, Senior Statistical Officer, will also be posted at the Gurugram office to track cancellations, refund status on airline and OTA platforms, on-time performance, compensation and baggage return.
Both teams will submit a daily report by 6:00 pm to Joint Director General (Administration) Harish Kumar Vashisth and Joint Director General Jai Prakash Pandey.
Regulator Summons IndiGo CEO
Amid the escalating crisis, the DGCA has summoned IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to appear on Thursday, December 11. He has been asked to present a detailed explanation of the disruptions, steps taken to stabilise operations and the airline’s hiring plans.
