Indigo’s human-caused crisis

The Indigo has taken the entire country for a ride and no concrete action is being taken against them.  Nothing seems to be happening on the ground. A classic case of mis-management by a private airline causing widespread dissatisfaction to lakhs of citizens-largely Indian but also foreigners.India’s image has been badly hit.

The government has ordered 10% reduction of Indigo flights with the resultant business to be apportioned among other  airlines.But,is that enough considering the degree of culpability of criminal negligence ?

Did the DGCA as the regulatory authority not know about the impending disaster,especially the demerits of building a monopoly situation by way of higher prices,reduced choice, inadequate services for passengers due to lack of competitive pressure?

Perhaps,this single “monopoly”factor made the airline so arrogant  that they treated travellers as “customers or commodities ”,not passengers.Profit was their sole motive.Passengers have a sense of ownership.This is not acceptable to them.

Should the case not be covered under the Consumer Protection Act? Refund is being talked about.Why should Indigo not give compensation for causing widespread hardships to thousands of suffering passengers who are feeling cheated,misled and financially wronged.Let the compensation be 3 to 4 times the refund amount.

Also, most importantly,in order to remove monopoly/duopoly, why not introduce more private players for providing better services at competitive prices? What is the role of the competition commission of India in investigating abuse of  dominance and protecting consumers’ interests.? It is a wake-up call.

A K Saxena (Former civil servant)