Parl panel may summon DGCA & airlines’ officials

A parliamentary panel is expected to summon senior executives of private airlines and officials from the civil aviation regulator after the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights left thousands of passengers stranded across airports in the country.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, is likely to seek detailed explanations from airline heads as well as officials from the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the reasons behind the disruption and the steps needed to restore normal operations.

A member of the committee said the panel had taken a serious note of the difficulties faced by travellers, adding that even MPs in the national capital for the winter session of Parliament were affected by IndiGo’s cancellations and delays across other airlines. Several parliamentarians have also received complaints about airfares rising sharply amid the ongoing crisis.

CPM’s Rajya Sabha member John Brittas, who is not part of the standing committee, has separately called for a joint parliamentary committee or a judicial inquiry into the large-scale disruption.