Timely Action Appears To Have Been Taken: Supreme Court Refuses Urgent Hearing Of Plea On Flight Cancellations By IndiGo

The Supreme Court, today, has refused to list an urgent hearing to a plea seeking judicial intervention into the cancellation of hundreds of flights by IndiGo.

The Court said that the Centre has taken note of the situation and has taken steps to address it; therefore, there is no urgency in the matter. 

The petition was mentioned for urgent listing before the bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

The Counsel submitted that there have been a lot of flight cancellations by IndiGo over the last few days, and passengers are suffering.

He said, "94 domestic airports are suffering...it is very serious."

CJI Kant remarked, "We understand that lacs of people are stranded at the airport... maybe people having urgent work, maybe people in need of urgent health issues...But the Government of India has taken cognizance. Timely action appears to have been taken. Let us see what happens after some time. There is no urgency right now."

Over 250 IndiGo flights from Delhi and Bengaluru airports were cancelled on Monday as the disruptions of the airline's flight operations entered the seventh day.

At the Delhi airport, 134 flights were cancelled, 75 departures and 59 arrivals, while at the Bengaluru airport, the carrier cancelled 117 services, 65 arrivals and 62 departures.

IndiGo has been facing heat from both the government and the passengers for cancelling hundreds of flights since December 2, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. The disruptions have left lakhs of passengers stranded at airports across the country.

 A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was also filed before the Delhi High Court seeking directions for ground assistance and refunds to passengers affected by the ongoing IndiGo flight disruption crisis.

The matter was mentioned today before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. During the mentioning, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that the situation at the airports was “inhuman” and highlighted that passengers had not received any refunds to date.

Accordingly, the matter will be listed for hearing soon.