Competition panel orders probe against IndiGo for unfair business practices

The Competition Commission on Wednesday ordered a detailed probe against IndiGo for unfair business practices, a little over two months after the country's largest airline cancelled thousands of flights due to operational issues.

In a 16-page order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that by cancelling thousands of flights, which constituted a significant portion of the scheduled capacity, IndiGo effectively withheld its services from the market, creating an artificial scarcity, limiting consumer access to air travel during peak demand.

"Such conduct by a dominant enterprise may be viewed as restricting the provision of services under Section 4(2)(b)(i) of the Act," the regulator said.

Section 4 of the Competition Act pertains to abuse of dominant position.

Noting that prima-facie the airline’s conduct seems to be causing an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, CCI ordered a detailed investigation by its Director General.

In early December, IndiGo faced massive operational disruptions, and subsequently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation curtailed the airline's winter schedule by 10 per cent until February 10.

Between December 3 and 5, 2,507 flights were cancelled, and 1,852 flights delayed, impacting over three lakh passengers at airports across the country, the regulator said in a statement on January 20.