IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. Thousands of flights were cancelled in December, and furious passengers were stuck at airports, processing the mess that left people troubled.
It all happened around December 2, amid new pilot duty rules that demand more rest to fight fatigue. The airline got caught off guard, leading to massive disruptions that sent ripples across the country.
This time, IndiGo has turned to an expert to dig deep and fix things for good. This isn't just about one bad month but to avoid any such discrepancies in future.
<p>Who is Captain John Illson, the foreign expert to probe the recent fiasco<br></p>
Talking to the expert
IndiGo's board has approved Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by US-based veteran Captain John Illson, to probe the recent operational meltdown. "The objective is to conduct an independent root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption, besides opportunities for improvement," the airline stated, as quoted in a Financial Express report. This follows advice from the board's Crisis Management Group (CMG), set up after chaos began on December 2.
Who is Captain John Illson?
Captain Illson is a former airline captain with over four decades in aviation. He served as a senior advisor to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), helping build better safety oversight strategies, per details from his LinkedIn.
He also led the Operational Safety Air Navigation Bureau at the UN's ICAO. "Captain Illson brings more than four decades of aviation experience across the FAA, ICAO, IATA and major global carriers. With an illustrious track record in global air transport, he brings extensive expertise in global aviation strategy, customized consulting, safety leadership, setting international standards, and new aircraft technologies," said IndiGo in their statement.
DGCA even sacked inspectors overseeing IndiGo ops amid the uproar. New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules aim to curb pilot fatigue but hit IndiGo hard in phase two, exposing planning gaps. However amid these disruptions a temporary exemption till February 10 helped stabilize things for now.
What is the way forward
Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta promised external tech experts to nail root causes and prevent repeats, via a video message covered in Indian Express. "With the Board’s approval now in place, the review will begin at the earliest, and the independent expert reviewer will submit a comprehensive report to the Board upon completion," an IndiGo spokesperson said.
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