Business
DGCA slaps IndiGo with fine of Rs 22 crore for flight disruptions – The Times of India
EW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slapped IndiGo with the steepest fine ever for an Indian carrier – Rs 22.2 crore – for its massive flight disruptions last month.Additionally, the airline has to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore whose release is tied to implementing, among other things, the more humane flight duty norms for pilots aimed to enhancing flight safety. The regulator has warned senior airline officials, including the CEO & COO. The senior VP of operation control centre has to be removed from his position.

The senior VP of operation control centre has to be removed from his position and not given any accountable position in the future. The aviation ministry has ordered “an internal inquiry to identify and implement systemic improvements within DGCA”.The regulator late on Saturday night released key findings of the report by its four-member panel that probed IndiGo schedule collapse last month. The airline’s unpreparedness and consequent inability to implement DGCA’s new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) for pilots has cost it dear. Each day’s exemption given for its Airbus A320 family pilots to ensure the airline was able to start resuming flights staring the second week of Dec is costing it Rs 30 lakh. This works out to Rs 20.4 crore for 68 days between Dec 5, 2025, & Feb 10, 2026.The airline has been fined one-time Rs 30 lakh each on six more counts, which add up the fine to Rs 22.2 crore. The six failures include failure to comply with new FDTL rules, rest periods, “inadequate buffer margins in roster planning… failure to strike balance between commercial imperatives and crew members’ ability to work effectively and failure of accountable management to ensure overall functioning, financing, and conduct of operations to DGCA standards.“Between Dec 3 and 5, 2,507 IndiGo flights were cancelled and 1,852 were delayed that left over 3 lakh passengers stranded at airports across the airline’s network. Flights had resumed gradually over the next week or so.What caused the crisis:“Over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness along with deficiencies in system software support and shortcomings in management structure & operational control on the IndiGo”, have been identified as the “primary causes for the disruption” by the DGCA probe panel. “The airline’s management failed to adequately identify planning deficiencies, maintain sufficient operational buffer, and effectively implement the revised FDTL provisions,” the report says.Action against IndiGo:Apart from fines, the airline’s CEO has been cautioned “for inadequate overall oversight of flight ops and crisis management.” Accountable manager & COO, Isidre Porqueras, has been warned for “failure to assess impact of winter schedule 2025 and revised FDTL leading to widespread disruptions.” Senior VP (ops control centre) has been asked to be relieved from the post and not be given any accountable position in future. Warnings have been issued to flight ops and crew resource planning “for operational, supervisory, manpower planning and roster management lapses.”Way ahead:DGCA has asked IndiGo to take appropriate action against any other personnel identified through its inquiry and submit a compliance report regarding the same. Sources say IndiGo has been made aware of the lapses of its senior officials, especially COO, and now the airline is expected to take action against them. “The findings underscore the need for operational planning, and effective management oversight to ensure sustainable operations and passenger safety & convenience,” report says.IndiGo statement:Confirming receipt of DGCA ruling, airline said it is “committed to taking full cognisance of the orders and will, in a thoughtful and timely manner, take appropriate measures… an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of the internal processes at IndiGo (is) underway to ensure that the airline emerges stronger out of these events in its otherwise pristine record of 19 plus years of operations”.
Business
Intellia Therapeutics says its Crispr-based treatment succeeds in pivotal trial
Intellia Therapeutics, building exterior and company sign, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Spencer Grant | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Intellia Therapeutics said its Crispr-based treatment for a rare swelling condition met its goals in a late-stage trial, marking a milestone for the field of gene editing and putting the company on track to seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The company’s treatment uses Nobel Prize-winning technology Crispr to edit DNA and turn off the gene that controls production of a peptide that’s overactive in people with hereditary angioedema, causing them to experience potentially life-threatening swelling attacks. Intellia’s treatment is administered once through an hourslong infusion, making the edits directly in the liver.
Intellia said the one-time treatment reduced attacks by 87% compared with a placebo, meeting the study’s main goal. Six months after treatment, 62% of patients were free from attacks and weren’t using other therapies, Intellia said.
The company described the safety and tolerability of the treatment as “favorable,” reporting the most common side effects were infusion-related reactions, headaches and fatigue. Analysts were closely watching safety in the trial since a patient in a separate trial of a different treatment from Intellia died. That patient developed a liver injury and ultimately died from septic shock following an ulcer, according to the company.
“When you think about where we started with Crispr, just 12 years ago with some of the fundamental insights, I think there was a lot of talk about what might be possible, and we’ve had reports along the way in terms of milestones, but this is the first Phase 3 data in any indication with in vivo Crispr where you’re actually changing a gene that causes disease,” said Intellia CEO John Leonard.
The only FDA-approved Crispr-based medicine comes from Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Called Casgevy, the gene editing is done outside the body, or ex vivo. The process requires collecting a person’s blood cells, making the edits outside the body, then reinfusing them back into a patient. Intellia’s treatment, meanwhile, makes the edits inside the body, or in vivo.
Intellia said it has started a rolling application with the FDA and plans to complete the filing in the second half of this year. The company expects to launch the treatment in the U.S. in the first half of next year, if it’s approved.
If approved, Intellia’s treatment, lonvoguran ziclumeran, will compete with about a dozen other chronic drugs for HAE. Despite the allure of a one-time treatment, genetic medicines haven’t always been a commercial successes. BioMarin withdrew its gene therapy for Hemophilia A because of weak sales, for example.
Leonard said there are important differences between the two, like the fact that BioMarin’s therapy faced questions about how long the effects would last. In contrast, he said Intellia hasn’t seen a single case in almost six years where the effects diminished over time.
Despite the results, he’s reluctant to call Intellia’s treatment a functional cure.
“I think this is a tipping point for the disease and tipping point for Crispr-based in vivo therapy where you can make a change [and] it’s permanent,” Leonard said. “And, as far as we can tell, we don’t have a single patient in this program or other program where there’s been any waning of the effect of what we did to the gene or the effect of what we’ve seen with the clinical aspects of the disease itself. So it’s pretty exciting.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that a patient in a separate trial of a different treatment from Intellia developed acute liver injury and ultimately died from septic shock following an ulcer.
Business
Claire’s closes all 154 stores in UK and Ireland with loss of 1,300 jobs
All of the chain’s standalone stores have stopped trading in the UK and Ireland.
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Business
Domino’s Pizza stock falls on disappointing sales — and CEO thinks more chains will follow
A pedestrian walks by a Domino’s Pizza on Dec. 9, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Domino’s Pizza stock fell 10% in morning trading on Monday after it reported weaker-than-expected U.S. same-store sales growth.
The chain’s domestic same-store sales rose just 0.9%, lower than the 2.3% bump expected by Wall Street analysts, based on StreetAccount estimates.
“We’re not happy with it,” CEO Russell Weiner told CNBC.
The pizza chain also lowered its full-year U.S. same-store sales forecast to low-single digit growth, down from its prior projection that U.S. same-store sales will increase 3%.
Weiner said he expects more fast-food chains to report similar headwinds from winter weather and weak consumer sentiment, which took a dive in March due to spiking fuel prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
“One of the bad things about reporting first is you don’t get to hear about anybody else,” Weiner said.
Domino’s kicked off the earnings season for restaurant chains. Starbucks is on deck after the bell on Tuesday, and Chipotle Mexican Grill and Pizza Hut owner Yum Brands are expected to share their results on Wednesday. Rival Papa John’s will report its earnings next Thursday.
During the quarter, Domino’s also faced stiffer competition from rival pizza chains. Papa John’s and Pizza Hut both matched Domino’s $9.99 “Best Deal Ever” with promotions at the same price point. And Little Caesars undercut Domino’s $6.99 Mix & Match deal with a $5.99 version.
“People are seeing what we’re doing, and they’re sick of losing share, and they’re coming at it,” Weiner said, adding that he still expects Papa John’s and Pizza Hut to report same-store sales declines for the quarter despite the new promotions.
Looking ahead, Weiner expressed confidence that Domino’s will prove itself in the long run.
“Domino’s has got a bigger advertising budget than our second two competitors combined,” he said. “And those competitors are both going up for sale, so we know things aren’t good there right now.”
Yum announced in November that it was exploring strategic options for Pizza Hut, which could include a sale. And Papa John’s is reportedly in talks with Qatari-backed Irth Capital to go private. Both chains have also announced plans to close hundreds of restaurants this year, which could further boost Domino’s dominant position in the pizza category.
And if either Pizza Hut or Papa John’s goes private, Weiner said he expects that a new owner would shutter even more locations — a win for Domino’s.
Shares of Domino’s have lost nearly a third of their value over the last year. The company’s market cap has fallen to roughly $11.2 billion.
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