India's competition regulator orders probe into IndiGo after mass flight cancellations

DEHLI: India's competition regulator has ordered an investigation into IndiGo after the airline's widespread flight cancellations in December rattled the country's air travel sector.

IndiGo, India's largest airline by market share, cancelled about 4,500 flights in the first weeks of December, stranding tens of thousands of passengers nationwide and highlighting concerns over limited competition in the world's fastest-growing aviation market.

In an order published on the regulator's website on Wednesday (Feb 4), the Competition Commission of India said IndiGo holds a "dominant position" in the domestic aviation market due to its large fleet, extensive network and financial strength.

"By cancelling thousands of flights constituting a significant portion of the scheduled capacity, IndiGo effectively withheld its service from the market, creating an artificial scarcity, limiting consumer access to air travel during peak demand," the CCI said.

The regulator issued the order following allegations of antitrust violations against the airline.

The complaint was filed by a lawyer who alleged IndiGo's cancellation of hundreds of flights caused heavy surge in prices as well as huge inconvenience to passengers.

The regulator said due to the airline's strong market dominance, consumers were essentially locked into using its services and lacked viable alternatives.

IndiGo's conduct appeared to have an adverse effect on competition in India, the CCI said, prompting a formal investigation.

The airline did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

India's aviation regulator in January fined IndiGo a record US$2.45 million, issued warnings to senior executives and directed the airline to remove the head of its operations control from his duties.

A probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation found several deficiencies at the airline after stricter pilot rest and duty rules came into effect last year.