Operational crisis at Indigo Airlines continued for the seventh consecutive day. On Monday, there was widespread anger among passengers as around 350 flights were cancelled. More than 3900 flights have been canceled so far. Many people raised questions about what IndiGo’s powerful board of directors was doing, and asked whether they were sleeping.
Company claims: Board active from day one
According to an IndiGo statement issued on December 7, the board of directors had started taking stock of the situation on the very first day of the crisis. IndiGo’s board includes prominent people like Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, former NITI Aayog CEO and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, former SEBI Chairman M. Damodaran and former FAA Administrator Michael Whittaker.
Questions were raised on social media
Despite such experienced members holding high positions, it is natural to raise questions about the deteriorating situation. Former executive and whistleblower Ashok Khemka said, “Was IndiGo’s high-profile board sleeping? Are they not responsible for the situation? Why are they silent?” SC refuses to hear IndiGo crisis case, passengers still facing problems at airport. The board also includes Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta, Managing Director Rahul Bhatia, lawyer Pallavi Shardul Shroff and aviation experts Anil Parashar and Greg Saretsky.
Question on the role of CEO
Experts say that CEO Peter Elbers is working on the board’s suggestions, so the board cannot be relieved of responsibility. Political analyst Amitabh Tiwari said that the G20 Sherpa on board has not even tweeted about the crisis.
Did the board intervene immediately?
According to Siddharth Zarabi, editor of Business Today Group, the board’s intervention on the first day of the crisis was not a normal procedure but a “sign of panic”. He said initially only the board chief was involved in the discussions, with the CEO being included later, and the repeated mention of calls indicating that the situation had become critical.
Why were they not alerted earlier? Many experts have questioned why such an experienced board failed to anticipate the crisis. Warnings were issued about crew shortages from January 2024, so why were board-level meetings held only after the crisis began?
People’s anger has not subsided
Passengers were seen angry at airports across the country. Videos are going viral in which people are seen arguing with the staff and expressing their frustration. The government has formed a committee of four members to investigate the entire matter. The report will be submitted to DGCA within 15 days. DGCA has given 24 hours to the CEO to respond. This is an unprecedented situation given the experienced board of IndiGo. The question now is not whether the board was negligent, but whether it would be able to land the plane safely before the crisis spread from the cockpit to the boardroom.
