- Centre orders IndiGo slot cut after nationwide cancellations
- DGCA action affects flights in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai
Hyderabad: IndiGo faced its first major disciplinary action after the Centre ordered a five percent cut in its airport slots. The action came after passengers across the country suffered severe difficulties due to large scale disruptions in IndiGo services. The airline recently cancelled hundreds of flights, which caused confusion at several airports.
The Director General of Civil Aviation issued orders reducing IndiGo’s slots. Officials said this move will lower the number of flights the airline can operate by about 110. Slots refer to the permissions that airlines receive to take off or land at airports. For example, if IndiGo has 100 slots in a day at Hyderabad airport, it can offer flights to 50 locations. However, the five percent cut now means that IndiGo can only serve 47 locations from the same airport.
According to the order, the slots removed from IndiGo will be given to other airlines. These include Air India, SpiceJet and Akasha. Meanwhile, Chennai saw the direct impact of the decision on Tuesday. A total of 41 flights were cancelled. This included 23 landings and 18 takeoffs. Some cancellations were also recorded in Delhi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. A DGCA official said that reducing slots will improve airline schedule management. He further said that it will also help reduce inconvenience to passengers.
Industry sources said the reduction may not cause heavy damage to IndiGo despite its 60 percent share in the domestic market. They believe the action aims to send a clear message that the airline must avoid decisions that disturb passengers. On the other hand, IndiGo has not released any response to the slot cut. Experts said the airline may review schedules and plan its ground operations better. Since the reductions have already led to cancellations, officials advised passengers to pay attention to updates.
Now you can get the latest stories from Indtoday on Telegram every day. Click the link to subscribe. Click to follow Indtoday’s Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. For all the latest Hyderabad News updates
