IndiGo will do 'root cause analysis' into flight disruptions; focus now on stabilsing ops: Airline o
New Delhi (PTI): IndiGo will carry out a "root cause analysis" into the flight disruptions that has happened due to a combination of factors and the focus now is to stabilise operations, which is expected by December 10, a senior airline official said on Sunday.
Amid the lack of proper crew planning while implementing the new flight duty norms being cited as a key reason for the significant operational disruptions, the official said the airline has adequate number of pilots and there is no deficiency.
"Our pilot numbers are fine while we may not be have the luxury of having a buffer," the official told PTI.
He also said there has been no hiring freeze amid concerns being raised in certain quarters that lean-operating model might have led to the current situation.
IndiGo has been grappling with significant flight cancellations and disruptions in the last five days and the situation is getting better, with the number of cancellations coming down on Sunday.
The airline, which generally operates around 2,300 flights daily, expects to operate 1,650 flights on Sunday, higher than 1,500 flights that flew on Saturday.
"We will need a root cause analysis, which will obviously take time... the disruptions happened due to a combination of factors and which factor played how much role (will be known after the root cause analysis)," the official said.
Acknowledging that the current situation is a learning experience, the official emphasised that there was no question of inadequacy.
"We are normalising operations and full stability in operations is expected by December 10," the official said.
The second phase of the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms for pilots that provides for lesser number of night landings, came into force from November 1. Since then, there have been some operational disruptions at the airline and things turned for the worse this week.
Asked why other airlines are not facing similar issues, the official mentioned that for whatever reason, they had a better buffer than IndiGo in terms of the number of pilots.
"We did not have the same kind of buffer. But that does not mean that there is a question of inadequacy, no. These are two different things," the official said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued show cause notices to the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers and the Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras, seeking explanations for the flight disruptions.
On whether the current situation of disruptions could have been avoided, the official said, "We will do our root cause analysis... we will do that and then we will come to know (what was the) planning lapse, if at all".
For the fog season, the official said the airline is prepared and there are adequate number of aircraft and pilots. We are confident of managing the fog season.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
