New Delhi [India], December 6 : Even as IndiGo airlines struggles to return to normal operations, the Congress has come out strongly against the centre and the ministry of civil aviation alleging that it was ill-prepared for this.
In a news conference in New Delhi, Congress MP Shashikant Senthil accused the government of not doing anything substantial to address the situation.
"This situation has been building for the past year and a half. The Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations issued by the DGCA were first notified in January 2024 (or March 2024). Airlines had more than enough time to adapt to these guidelines, and we believe they are important. But what was the DGCA doing all this time, given that it was responsible for enforcing the rules and ensuring that airlines complied over the last two years?" Senthil said.
"These are its own guidelines, and it knew that a major airline, practically a monopoly/duopoly in the country, was not prepared. What was the Ministry doing, fully aware that this crisis was inevitable? It is not as if they were unaware. Yet the entire country was pushed into chaos, and all of this happened at a time when the President of Russia was visiting India. On one hand, they showcase Viksit Bharat; on the other, this is the reality unfolding before the world," he added.
The Congress MP further questioned the Centre on allowing a duopoly to exist in the aviation sector.
"Why has the BJP government in the last 11 years allowed aviation to shrink into a monopoly and duopoly instead of building a competitive, diverse sector? Why did the DGCA fail to ensure IndiGo complied with the FDTL rules released in January 2024 and partially implemented from July 2025 and fully on 1 November 2025? Did the government ever issue warnings or compliance notices to IndiGo, or was the airline protected from enforcement altogether? Given the electoral bond disclosures showing massive purchases by InterGlobe group entities and its promoter, is the BJP's financial proximity to IndiGo the real reason behind this extraordinary leniency at the cost of passengers' safety? Will the Union Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu take responsibility for this unprecedented crisis or continue hiding behind generic, meaningless statements while passengers remain stranded?" Senthil said.
Earlier, former Union Minister and Congress Leader P Chidambaram described the widespread flight cancellations, especially of IndiGo, as a consequence of what he termed a duopolistic market.
In a post the Congress veteran backed the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who had on various occasions opposed duopoly in businesses.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi was spot on when he said that the monopoly/duopoly model is ill-suited for a developing country," Chidambaram wrote on X. Duopoly prevails in many sectors of the Indian economy; the airline industry is one, the veteran Congress leader said.
"Liberalisation and Open Economy are based on competition. Absent competition, there will be baneful consequences as we are witnessing now in the airline industry. People must ponder over HOW a vibrant and competitive airline industry in India was reduced to a two-player business, and WHY," he further wrote.
IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across sectors, leaving passengers stranded and causing widespread chaos at airports. The cause of the disruption includes the inability to implement new pilot duty-hour regulations and crew shortage.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Saturday directed IndiGo Airlines to clear all pending passenger refunds without delay. According to an official release, the Ministry has mandated that the refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be fully completed by 8:00 PM on Sunday, December 7.
The Ministry has also instructed airline not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were impacted by cancellations. It emphasised that any delay or non-compliance in processing refunds will invite immediate regulatory action under the Ministry's powers.