New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS) Facing intense government scrutiny, low-cost airline IndiGo on Monday said it has so far refunded Rs 827 crore to affected passengers, and the rest is under process for cancellations up to December 15.

IndiGo said it was set to operate over 1,800 flights on Monday, up from 1,650 on Sunday, adding that more than 4,500 bags have been delivered to respective customers, and “we are on track to deliver the rest in the next 36 hours”.

“Today, we are all set to operate over 1,800 flights, connecting all stations that we operate to. We have optimised our operations and managed to reduce the number of cancellations which are being notified to customers in advance, and our on-time performance (OTP) has also improved to 91 per cent across the network,” said the airline.

The statement came as the government said it will take strict action against low-cost airline over the massive disruption of flights to “set an example” for all airlines.

Earlier, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu said in the Parliament on Monday that the government has initiated a thorough inquiry into the matter.

“IndiGo was supposed to manage the crew and roster. Passengers faced a lot of difficulties. We are not taking the situation lightly. We will take strict action. We will set an example for every airline. If there is any non-compliance, we will take action,” he said on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.

According to the airline, all cancellations in Monday’s schedule were executed on Sunday, ensuring advance notifications being sent to customers.

“While IndiGo is progressing further on the path to full recovery, we remain committed to assisting our customers and addressing their queries and requests on a war footing. To this end, we have expedited several internal processes,” it added.

The airline said it is assisting over 2 lakh customers every day, across various communications channels.

“We regret this disruption and apologise sincerely to all our customers. We would like to reiterate that all our operations are fully compliant with the relevant FDTL norms and safety regulations, as they have been throughout the last two decades,” IndiGo added.

–IANS

na/pgh