Delhi HC Pulls Up Centre Over IndiGo Flight Chaos, Calls It a “Crisis” Affecting Passengers and Economy

Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed sharp concern over the large-scale disruption caused by IndiGo’s recent flight cancellations, asking the Central government to explain how the situation was allowed to escalate into what the court described as a “crisis”.

A bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the fallout extended far beyond passenger inconvenience. The judges observed that the episode not only stranded thousands of travellers but also led to avoidable economic losses and chaos across airports.

The court also questioned how other airlines were able to surge their fares during the disruption, effectively taking advantage of stranded passengers in urgent need of travel alternatives.

Appearing for the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), government counsel informed the court that regulatory frameworks are already in place and that a show-cause notice has been issued to IndiGo. The airline has reportedly offered an unconditional apology.

The counsel added that the chain of cancellations stemmed from multiple violations of operational guidelines, including rules related to crew flight duty timings, which triggered a cascading operational breakdown.