Karti Chidambaram Blames IndiGo, DGCA and Govt for Nationwide Flight Chaos

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: With air travel across India thrown into disarray after IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Friday criticised the airline, aviation regulator DGCA and the central government, calling the situation a “collective failure” in planning and oversight.

The disruption, which has left passengers stranded at major airports and forced widespread rescheduling, comes on the heels of new DGCA-mandated crew-rest regulations coming into effect. Airlines were required to comply with updated norms aimed at reducing crew fatigue and enhancing operational safety.

Chidambaram said the rule change was communicated long in advance, and the airline had ample time to prepare. “The government and the DGCA issued certain directives regarding rest for flying crew, and these were communicated well in advance. The airline knew very well that this deadline was approaching and that they had to comply with it,” he said.

He added that the aviation ministry should have anticipated the scale of the operational impact. “The government should also have conducted an impact assessment. It was a collective failure on the part of the airline, the DGCA, and the ministry; all of them are equally responsible for this chaos,” he remarked.