India¡¯s aviation industry is poised for a reckoning after crises at its two dominant carriers exposed cracks in the booming market and forced government intervention.
IndiGo, which controls two-thirds of the market, suffered an unprecedented meltdown when pilot shortages and software glitches stretched its tightly run schedules to breaking point in early December. It triggered thousands of flight cancellations and stranded half a million passengers. A report by the sector regulator on IndiGo¡¯s lapses is expected soon.
Air India, which has been stumbling through its transition from state ownership to Tata Group control, faced embarrassing slip-ups as well as human tragedy last year. It had the most number of issues among local carriers in a safety audit in July, weeks after it lost a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in a crash that killed 241 people.
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