‘Damage to the economy’, Delhi High Court angry with Indigo crisis, asked the government – who is responsible?

IndiGo Crisis: Hearing on Indigo crisis was held in Delhi High Court today i.e. on Wednesday. Delhi High Court expressed displeasure over Indigo crisis and said that the situation is really a big crisis. Taking cognizance of the Indigo crisis, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought an explanation from the Center as to how a crisis of this level arose. More than 4600 flights of Indigo Airlines have been canceled in the last nine days. Passengers have been troubled by this. The court questioned the government for not being able to stop the Indigo crisis and said that it affected not only the passengers but the entire economy.

In fact, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court DK Upadhyay said that the question is why such a situation arose? Who is responsible for it? This is not a question of individual passengers stranded at airports. The question is about the loss caused to the economy. A public interest litigation (PIL) was heard in the Delhi High Court today i.e. on Wednesday, demanding a judicial inquiry and compensation on the Indigo crisis.

‘what do you want’

During the hearing, the court asked the petitioner, when the government is taking action, what do you want now? On this, the petitioner’s lawyer said that the number of flight cancellations has decreased in the last four days. At the same time, ASG Chetan Sharma, appearing on behalf of the Central Government, said that the government has taken strict steps. On this the High Court said that the situation is really a big crisis.

Passengers’ baggage were scattered like this at Delhi Airport.

Court expressed concern over rent

The High Court bench asked what steps were taken regarding the behavior of airline employees with passengers. The court also sought a reply when the guidelines related to the working hours of pilots were not implemented on time. The court expressed concern over the huge increase in fares and asked how the tickets increased from Rs 4-5 thousand to Rs 30-40 thousand. On this, ASG said that the government has imposed a strict cap on fares and Indigo has been given a one-time exemption till February 2026.

What did the court say on Indigo crisis?

• Court: Measures that should have been adopted by IndiGo to ensure adherence to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). One of them was the appointment of required number of pilots. However, it appears that IndiGo could not recruit enough pilots, due to which these limits were not adhered to.
• Court: Additional Solicitor General (ASG) has said that there has been a serious deficiency in software support. A circular issued by DGCA is placed before us, which relates to civil aviation requirements to be followed by operating airlines.
• Court: It has been said that the requirements given in the circular should be compulsorily followed by the airlines and it was also stated that DGCA and the Ministry took several steps immediately after the situation of disruption in flights came to light. One of these measures is reflected in the letter issued on December 5, under which some relaxations have been given with respect to the leaves available to pilots.
• Court: It has been said that this step was not taken with the aim of relaxing FDTL, but to deal with the sudden situation. Our attention was also drawn to another DGCA letter issued on December 5, under which IndiGo has been given some relaxation as a one-time measure.
• Court: To prevent unreasonable increase in air fares by other airlines, we are told that the Ministry has issued an order to impose fare caps.
• Court: We were also informed that the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA have taken this issue very seriously and DGCA has constituted a committee to review the circumstances leading to the disruption in IndiGo’s flight operations.
• Court: The order constituting the committee reflects that DGCA found prima facie indications of deficiencies in the operational preparedness and compliance plan, which should become the subject of investigation. This committee is headed by the Director General of DGCA. The terms of reference of the committee include identification of causes of widespread operational disruption, evaluation of manpower planning, review of changing roster system etc.

Now when is the next hearing?
The court has asked the government to appoint adequate pilots in all the airlines. The court said that after the investigation of the committee constituted in this case is completed, the report should be presented in a sealed envelope before the next hearing. The court will hold the next hearing on January 22, 2026.