Question mark over role of IndiGo high-profile board, its risk committee in run-up to crisis

But the key question before the board is: how frequently did it seek updates from the management about the preparatory steps to meet the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL or pilot rest rules) despite these being stipulated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation almost two years ago in January 2024.

The new pilot rest rules were originally meant to be implemented from June 1, 2024. But these were deferred in March 2024 following resistance from airlines. Finally, the new FDTL was to be implemented in two phases — July 1, 2025 and November 1, 2025 — as informed by the DGCA and the government to the Delhi High Court in April this year.

At the Delhi airport on Sunday. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

A detailed questionnaire mailed to board members Whitaker and leading lawyer Pallavi Shroff, and messages to Mehta, IAF ex-chief BS Dhanoa and Damodaran did not elicit a response. Responding to the queries, Amitabh Kant said he had just joined the board and hence would not be appropriate for him to comment. “Pl check with Chairman & CEO,” he said. Kant joined the IndiGo board on September 15 this year.

On Saturday, the fourth day when IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights, the DGCA issued a show cause notice to CEO Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras asking them to respond within 24 hours for significant planning lapses. It has now extended the time given to them by another 24 hours.

Aviation sector analysts and former bureaucrats asked if the board did enough in the months leading up to a massive operational crisis due to pilot shortage. “The board has a seven-member Risk Management Committee. Did it closely track progress,” said a former bureaucrat, and a corporate governance expert. The Risk Management Committee of the board, chaired by Saretsky, had five other members besides CEO Elbers. They are ACM (Retd) Dhanoa, Whitaker, Damodaran, Kant and Anil Parashar.

The airline’s failure to adapt to stricter pilot rest rules, leading to crew unavailability, happened despite being in the know for nearly 24 months. It is not clear if the DGCA was monitoring the preparation by airlines over the last six months.

A perusal of IndiGo’s annual reports for the last two years, 2023-24 and 2024-25, shows there is no mention of the new FDTL even once, not even in the airline’s risk management reports.

In fact, the 2024-25 Annual Report reads, “IndiGo maintains proactive vigil and communication with regulatory and government bodies to ensure preparedness, outlining risk or challenges, and seamless compliance with evolving regulatory standards and requirements. As a member of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) IndiGo actively engages in an industry dialogue to advocate policies conducive to the growth of the aviation sector. IndiGo seeks assistance from global industry experts or counsels, as required, to ensure implementation of the best industry practices and deployment of risk mitigation tools.”

On the IndiGo board in an executive role is Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Enterprises and co-founder of what is now India’s largest airline. He is the promoter and Managing Director of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd or IndiGo, and has been at the helm of the airline for its nearly 20 years of existence.

Kant, an IAS officer and till recently India’s G20 Sherpa, has been a non-executive non-independent director since September 15. Damodaran, also a non-executive director, is also a retired bureaucrat who was Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India from February 2005 to February 2008.

Michael Whitaker, a non-executive independent director was a former lawyer with Trans World Airlines and then went on to serve as an administrator of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency responsible for air safety, efficiency, and the operation of the national air traffic system in America.

The board also includes former Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa and Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, as non-executive independent directors of the Company. Vikram Mehta is the Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director of IndiGo, and was the Chairman of the Shell Group of Companies in India between 1994 and 2012.

A DGCA probe is now underway on what exactly went wrong that sent IndiGo into a tailspin this week. Given the scale of the disruption, the government and the regulator blinked and granted the airline certain temporary exemptions from the new crew rest and duty norms that it had sought to stabilise its operations and schedule. But both the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) have said they are now going to get to the root of this disruption and take strict regulatory action.

To questions if there was an oversight on the part of the DGCA, sources said it did seem the government and the regulator were taken by surprise by the massive scale of the IndiGo disruption. On its part though, the DGCA said that it issued repeated directions and advance instructions to IndiGo on the state of readiness for the new norms.

“DGCA has issued repeated directions and advance instructions from time to time to M/s Indigo for having timely preparation to implement the provisions of the aforesaid CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements),” the regulator said in its December 5 order instituting the inquiry into the disruption.