Delhi High Court reprimands Central Government over Indigo crisis

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reprimanded the central government over the IndiGo crisis. The court questioned what the government did when the airline failed. It asked how flight ticket prices surged from Rs. 4,000-5,000 to Rs. 30,000, and how other airlines took advantage of the situation. "What action did you take? You allowed the situation to reach this point," the court said.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an independent judicial inquiry into the IndiGo crisis and compensation for passengers whose flights were cancelled or who were stranded at airports.

During the hearing, the court stated that this is not just a matter concerning individual passengers, but it has also caused economic losses to the country. The government must ensure that such a situation does not recur in the future.

Meanwhile, the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has summoned IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers for a meeting at 3 PM on Thursday.

Government says DGCA will also be investigated

The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) is also now under the scanner of the central government regarding the IndiGo crisis. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in an interview that not only IndiGo but also the functioning of the DGCA will be investigated regarding the airline's failures. The minister apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers and said that strict and appropriate action will be taken against those responsible.

The minister said that IndiGo's major failure does not seem like a normal mistake, but rather indicates deliberate negligence. He said the government is investigating why such a crisis occurred at that particular time and how the situation deteriorated despite ongoing operations.

On the question of removing the CEO, Naidu said that he will be removed if necessary. All necessary legal action will be taken. Naidu also said that he has been holding continuous meetings for the past seven days and has barely slept, as the focus is solely on resolving the passengers' problems. IndiGo claimed to have 403 aircraft and secured 6% more flights.

The DGCA stated that there is a significant discrepancy between IndiGo's declared operating capacity and the actual number of aircraft it is using. This means the company is not operating as many aircraft as it claims to be capable of.

According to the DGCA, IndiGo secured a 6% larger winter schedule by claiming to have 403 aircraft, but only 339 aircraft were operational in October and 344 in November. In November, only 59,438 flights operated out of the scheduled 64,346, a shortfall of 4,900 flights.

They further explained that while there is already pressure on the system during the winter months, the company scheduled 9.66% more flights in the winter schedule that began on October 26th compared to the previous year, even though it could not demonstrate the capacity to handle this increase. This added extra burden on the system.