‘IndiGo crisis troubled lakhs, caused loss to economy’: Delhi HC takes tough stance on flight cancellations

Hearing a PIL seeking an independent judicial probe into the IndiGo crisis, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday noted that the widespread flight cancellations had caused trouble and harassment to lakhs of stranded passengers.

A division bench led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya also pointed out that, besides leaving passengers stranded, the flight disruptions also caused loss to the economy. The fast movement of passengers is a key aspect in keeping the economy functioning in today’s times, the court observed.

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The court also noted that the IndiGo flight disruption situation was allowed to precipitate, leaving lakhs of passengers stranded on airports.

The court also asked the Additional Solicitor General and the counsel representing the aviation regulator DGCA how other airlines could take advantage of the situation created by the IndiGo flight cancellations by charging a hefty amount for air tickets.

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“The question is, if there was a crisis, how can other airlines be permitted to take advantage (of the situation)? How can fares go to Rs 35-39K? How could other airlines start overcharging? How can it happen?” the court asked, as per LiveLaw.

The ASG, on behalf of the government, meanwhile informed the court that a statutory mechanism is in place and a show-cause notice has been served to IndiGo over the crisis. “The airline apologised profusely,” the Delhi HC was informed.

The ASG also said during the hearing that the Aviation Ministry had nothing to do with the crisis, as IndiGo is a private airline.

IndiGo is a professionally run airline; the crisis was a creation of their own making, the ASG said.

Meanwhile, while the IndiGo CEO claimed yesterday that the airline operations had completely normalised, there were reports of some cancellations happening at a few airports today as well.