New Delhi: Compensation to the tune of Rs 163.92 crore in the form of travel coupons has already been given to passengers impacted by the mass cancellation of flights by IndiGo in early December, minister of civil aviation K Rammohan Naidu informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.Replying to supplementary queries during Question Hour, he said over 3.6 lakh customers were affected by the incident and that Rs 43.8 crore has been distributed thus far as compensation after a ticket validation process. Nadu assured that the government is taking multiple necessary measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur. Hundreds of flights operated by IndiGo were cancelled in the first week of December due to shortage of pilots after the expiry of the deadline on Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). The government blamed the airline for the lack of adequate planning in implementing the second phase of the FDTL norms. It granted the airline a one-time exemption from enforcement of norms. Responding to a specific query on the IndiGo crisis, the minister said the civil aviation ministry is consulting airlines on a day-to-day basis before implementation of new norms. “But, even after it is done we are taking much more care right now so that this kind of situation does not repeat itself,” he asserted.Stating that the ministry was engaged with the airline to ensure more compensation to the passengers, Nadu said that the airline, as a gesture of care, had also extended Rs 10,000 of coupons or travel coupons. “For this, Rs 163.9 crore has already been distributed to the passengers. And more, if they can validate their time of travel at that specific time,” Naidu said.Regarding the IndiGo incident, the minister said DGCA has been in continuous engagement with the airlines. “This was a specific instance where there were new FDTL norms that have come into place and it was the airlines which had to look into its internal operations and say that if the FDTL is coming into place, how many more pilots do we need and how do we route the rostering of the crew so that the impact is not there on the operations,” Naidu said. “More than 246 pilots have been employed in this three months itself by IndiGo… We have also brought 10% of the operations for Indigo. So, multiple necessary measures have been taken so that this kind of incident does not repeat,” Naidu said.
