New Delhi [India], December 12 The Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday chaired a comprehensive review to assess Airline preparedness for the winter-fog season.
"Chaired a comprehensive review meeting today to assess preparedness for the upcoming fog window of the winter schedule with all key stakeholders including DGCA, AAI, airport operators, airlines and CISF. All stakeholders have been instructed to ensure full compliance, fix accountability and implement strict SOPs for fog operations. To maintain smooth operations, emphasis has to be laid on real-time data exchange, activation of war rooms and deployment of CAT-II/III compliant aircraft with qualified crew. Clear directions have been issued to ensure safe, seamless and well-coordinated operations, along with timely communication of updates to passengers to help them prepare well in advance. Each and every passenger is important and any instance of inconvenience will be addressed with clear accountability," the Minister post on X.
Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday sacked four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) in connection with the recent IndiGo flight cancellation crisis. According to the notice issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, four Flight Operation Inspectors who had been dismissed are Rish Raj Chatterjee, Seema Jhamnani, Anil Kumar Pokhariyal, and Priyam Kaushik.
The notice read, "Consequent upon approval of the Competent Authority, the following Fols under various categories, on contract basis, in DGCA are hereby relieved from DGCA with immediate effect to join their respective parent organisations: Rish Raj Chatterjee, Consultant [Dy. CFOI(A)], Seema Jhamnani, SFOI(A), Anil Kumar Pokhariyal, Consultant[FOI(A)], and Priyam Kaushik, Consultant[FOI(A)].
Meanwhile, a special four-member Committee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will meet with IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers to question the latter on the widespread cancellation of flights in the last week.
The four-member Committee has been constituted to examine the flight disruptions caused by IndiGo, which have created complete chaos at various airports.DGCA has increased scrutiny of the airline following widespread flight cancellations and delays, and has taken several steps to ensure smooth operations.
Earlier, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers after widespread cancellations. The airline, responding to the Show Cause notice, requested additional time to respond, stating that it is "realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)" at this time, given the "complexity and vast scale of operations."