House panel seeks reports from DGCA, other aviation stakeholders on recent flight crisis

The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, on Saturday (December 20, 2025) directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other stakeholders to submit reports on the recent flight crisis and related issues during a meeting held in Chennai.

Sources said senior representatives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA, Airports Authority of India, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, private airlines – including IndiGo’s Chief Financial Officer – and pilot associations such as the Federation of Indian Pilots and the Indian Pilots Guild appeared before the PAC.

It is learnt that the pilot associations asserted the crisis could have been averted and that there was adequate availability of pilots. The airline, however, defended itself citing “external factors” and issues related to the crew roster system.

The PAC took strong exception to the absence of the DGCA Chairman from the meeting and, sources said, sought an explanation for the same.

User Development Fee

Another issue taken up by the PAC was the User Development Fee (UDF), linked to a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal judgment, which has been challenged by the AERA in the Supreme Court.

The tribunal’s ruling could lead to the inclusion of non-aeronautical areas, such as shopping malls, in the calculation of the fee and may eventually impose an additional financial burden on passengers, particularly at privately managed airports.