On Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered immediate, wide-ranging inspections at eleven airports following severe disruptions in IndiGo’s operations that left thousands of passengers stranded or delayed across the country.
The DGCA’s directive states that officers must reach the designated airports “within two to three days” and submit a comprehensive report to the regulator “within 24 hours of completing their inspection”.
ALSO READ| Aviation minister Naidu says he will ‘definitely’ sack IndiGo CEO if needed as probe widens
Here’s the name of the 11 airports under DGCA’s lens
The airports on the list include Nagpur, Jaipur, Bhopal, Surat, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Shirdi, Cochin, Lucknow, Amritsar and Dehradun.
The inspections are aimed at evaluating safety preparedness, operational readiness, the quality of passenger facilitation, and IndiGo’s responsiveness during the unfolding disruption. Officers have been told to closely examine the status of flight delays and cancellations, congestion inside terminals, and how queues are being handled at check-in counters, security lanes and boarding gates. They must also assess the “adequacy of operational manpower deployed by both IndiGo and the airport”.
Officials also have been instructed to check whether airline help desks are being staffed round the clock, whether accurate and timely information is being provided about delays or cancellations, and whether essential amenities, especially drinking water, are readily available.
The DGCA has asked its teams to evaluate assistance extended to vulnerable passengers: senior citizens, children, pregnant women and those with reduced mobility.
The order also requires an assessment of the seating arrangements in holding areas, the presence of senior airline management at airports, and even “the hygiene and cleanliness of toilets and other terminal facilities”, including housekeeping deployment.
Officers must examine the status of pending baggage deliveries, identify any backlog and speak directly to passengers to gather feedback on the support they have received.
ALSO READ| Hyderabad airport rocked with bomb threat email demanding million-dollar ransom
The DGCA has further asked officials to verify if IndiGo’s dedicated help desks are functioning effectively, whether operational control rooms have been set up by the airline and airport operators, and whether grievance-handling mechanisms are working as intended.
Another area of review will be the timeliness of “SMS, WhatsApp and email notifications” being sent to passengers.
