When it comes to heart health, milk has had a mixed reputation. While some praise its benefits as a boost of calcium and protein, others link it with cardiovascular troubles. However, according to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine in the United States
Centre imposes caps on airfares as IndiGo flight disruptions continue for fifth day
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday imposed temporary caps on airline ticket fares as IndiGo's domestic operations remained disrupted for the fifth consecutive day.
The ministry said that any deviation from the prescribed norms would attract “immediate corrective action in the larger public interest”.
It also directed IndiGo to clear all pending passenger refunds without delay and mandated that the refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights be completed by 8 pm on Sunday.
IndiGo, India's largest airline by market share, cancelled more than 400 flights across four major airports on Saturday, PTI reported.
A day earlier, it had cancelled all domestic flights from Delhi till midnight. Services in other cities were also affected, leaving passengers stranded at airports.
The reduction in IndiGo's capacity has pushed up domestic airfares across carriers.
On Saturday, the ministry said that it has taken serious note of concerns about “unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines” during the ongoing disruption”.
“In order to protect passengers from any form of opportunistic pricing, the ministry has invoked its regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes,” the ministry said in a statement.
The fare caps will be in place until the situation stabilises, it added.
The ministry also said that IndiGo had been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.
The airline has been asked to ensure that baggage separated from passengers due to cancellations or delays is traced and delivered to them within the next 48 hours.
These directives came a day after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation withdrew its instructions to airlines on weekly rest for crew members.
The regulator said the provision, which states that “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”, needed to be reviewed in light of the disruptions and requests from airlines to ensure continuity and operational stability.
The order was withdrawn after a shortage of pilots and crew disrupted flights operated by IndiGo beginning Tuesday. The airline had not made sufficient adjustments to its roster to accommodate new government regulations.
In January 2024, revised rostering norms were issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after concerns about pilot fatigue and were meant to take effect on June 1, 2024. However, airlines asked for delayed implementation because of staffing shortages and operational challenges, and the key changes were eventually introduced on November 1.
IndiGo had sought relief from some provisions that limit pilot duty hours at night, Reuters reported.
On Friday, the regulator also granted IndiGo a one-time exemption from night-duty rules for pilots.
Later in the day, Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said that the Union government will institute a high-level inquiry into the disruption.
IndiGo released an apology on Friday saying that while the problem “will not get resolved overnight”, it was making efforts to bring its operations back to normal.
“Today [Friday] should be the day with highest number of cancellations, as we are doing all that is necessary to reboot all our systems and schedules for progressive improvement starting tomorrow,” it said.
The airlines added that it will process refunds for cancellations automatically and will offer a full waiver on cancellations and rescheduling requests between December 5 and December 15.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the South Central Railway announced that it would run four special trains to manage the surge in passengers travelling to Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata from Hyderabad following the large-scale cancellation of IndiGo flights, The Indian Express reported.
The Northern Railway has alsoadded extra coaches to popular services and are running special trains to high-demand destinations, ANI reported.
Source: Scroll
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When it comes to heart health, milk has had a mixed reputation. While some praise its benefits as a boost of calcium and protein, others link it with cardiovascular troubles. However, according to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine in the United States
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