New DelhiThe Competition Commission of India (CCI), India's fair trade watchdog, announced on Thursday that it has chosen to investigate IndiGo's recent wave of flight cancellations on several routes in accordance with competition laws. The action was taken in the midst of a major disruption in the aviation industry that impacted travelers all over the country.The CCI stated in an official statement that it has reviewed the information submitted against IndiGo in relation to the recent flight disruptions observed on a number of routes. The regulator said, "Based on the initial assessment, the Commission has decided to proceed further in the matter in accordance with the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002," as reported by PTI.
Scrutiny is triggered by mass cancellations.Beginning on December 2, hundreds of flights were canceled by IndiGo, which holds more than 65% of the domestic aviation market. Thousands of passengers experienced severe inconvenience as a result of the cancellations; many had to deal with last-minute travel uncertainty, delays, and rebookings. Some have questioned whether the airline's dominant market position contributed to the disruptions given their magnitude.
DGCA investigation and issues with competitionConcerns about competition have also emerged, even though the aviation safety regulator DGCA is already looking into the flight disruptions and has tightened its scrutiny of IndiGo's operations. The CCI was investigating whether IndiGo might have broken competition laws, a senior official told news agency PTI last week.
According to IndiGo, operations have stabilized.Pieter Elbers, the chief executive of IndiGo, informed staff that the airline has stabilized operations after a period of disruption amid the regulatory scrutiny. He declared that the worst was over and that the biggest airline in the nation was now concentrating on strengthening resilience, carrying out a root-cause analysis, and rebuilding systems to avert further disruptions."We are regaining our wings despite the storm. "The worst is over," Elbers declared.He acknowledged that the last two weeks had been "very challenging," but he gave credit to pilots, cabin crew, airport teams, operations control, and customer service personnel for getting the network back to about 2,200 flights per day.