Mumbai: Faced with acute pilot shortage, low-cost airline cancelled nearly 50 flights across the country on Wednesday. The country‘s largest airline for domestic operations has now announced a curtailed schedule for February and March, with about 30 planned per day. The cancellations, which will hit over 2.3 lakh, began last week and are the worst ever operational disruptions that the 12-year old carrier has ever faced. “These 30 flights represent 2% of ,‘‘ the airline said.
On Wednesday, flights to/from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata accounted for nearly half of all cancellations. Mumbai cancellations included 6E 236 to Bengaluru,6E 3834 to Chennai and in the arrivals category, 6E 831 from Guwahati, 6E 654 from Chennai and 6E 318 from Kolkata.
Those hit from Delhi were 6E 774 to Nagpur, 6E 2131 to Bengaluru and in the arrivals category, 6E 766 from Hyderabad, 6E 2652 and 6E 2622 from Chennai.
Sources said that the airline is currently in the process of recruiting foreign pilots on contract to close the gap. “IndiGo has been putting in applications to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to bring in foreign pilots under FATA (Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation),‘‘ said a source. Pilots who hold a licence issued by a foreign regulatory authority have to obtain DGCA authorisation under FATA to fly in India. It‘s not a speedy process. “Every Wednesday, a number of foreign pilots chosen by IndiGo have been coming to the DGCA office to give viva exams,” he added.
An IndiGo spokesperon said the airline had informed DGCA that it has cancelled 49 flights on Wednesday. “All these flights were cancelled with one to two days prior notice in order to re-accommodate passengers on flights at a similar time as booked. The cancellations on Wednesday were caused by several factors like anticipated weather conditions on Thursday and NOTAMs (notice to airmen) at various airports. This resulted in extended duty times which then made it necessary to re-roster our crew and optimize our operations,‘‘ the spokesperson said, adding that the airline has planned to cancel 30 flights per day for the rest of February and will follow a curtailed scheduled for March as well.
02/03/19 Lisa Stevens/Dover Daily News
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On Wednesday, flights to/from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata accounted for nearly half of all cancellations. Mumbai cancellations included 6E 236 to Bengaluru,6E 3834 to Chennai and in the arrivals category, 6E 831 from Guwahati, 6E 654 from Chennai and 6E 318 from Kolkata.
Those hit from Delhi were 6E 774 to Nagpur, 6E 2131 to Bengaluru and in the arrivals category, 6E 766 from Hyderabad, 6E 2652 and 6E 2622 from Chennai.
Sources said that the airline is currently in the process of recruiting foreign pilots on contract to close the gap. “IndiGo has been putting in applications to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to bring in foreign pilots under FATA (Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation),‘‘ said a source. Pilots who hold a licence issued by a foreign regulatory authority have to obtain DGCA authorisation under FATA to fly in India. It‘s not a speedy process. “Every Wednesday, a number of foreign pilots chosen by IndiGo have been coming to the DGCA office to give viva exams,” he added.
An IndiGo spokesperon said the airline had informed DGCA that it has cancelled 49 flights on Wednesday. “All these flights were cancelled with one to two days prior notice in order to re-accommodate passengers on flights at a similar time as booked. The cancellations on Wednesday were caused by several factors like anticipated weather conditions on Thursday and NOTAMs (notice to airmen) at various airports. This resulted in extended duty times which then made it necessary to re-roster our crew and optimize our operations,‘‘ the spokesperson said, adding that the airline has planned to cancel 30 flights per day for the rest of February and will follow a curtailed scheduled for March as well.
02/03/19 Lisa Stevens/Dover Daily News
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