Indigo dispute in Delhi High Court, union seeks affidavit on action taken and passenger relief

By Samira Vishwas On Jan 23, 2026

The report of the Delhi High Court hearing regarding the Indigo crisis is accurate and matches multiple credible sources including ANI, Bar & Bench, Hindustan Times, Live Law, Mint and others with the date of January 22, 2026.

The crisis was triggered by a massive flight disruption in early December 2025, when IndiGo cancelled over 2,500 flights and delayed nearly 1,900 between December 3-5 due to non-compliance with revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations, over-optimization of operations, staff shortages (especially of pilots), software glitches, and management errors. This stranded millions of passengers during the peak winter travel season, leading to regulatory scrutiny, fare hikes, and several PILs filed in the Delhi High Court seeking investigation, compensation, and accountability.

On January 22, 2026, before a division bench headed by Chief Justice DK Upadhyay (with Justice Tejas Karia), the central government (through Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma) informed the court about the action taken based on the report of the four-member DGCA inquiry committee. The key measures include:

– Directing IndiGo to dismiss a senior vice president.
– Imposing a monetary penalty of ₹22 crore (some reports state it to be ₹22.2 crore) on the airline.
– Seeking a bank guarantee of ₹50 crore from IndiGo to implement long-term corrective actions in governance, manpower planning, digital systems, and monitoring.
– Issuing warnings to senior officials, including the chief operating officer, director, deputy head of flight operations, and a resource analyst.

IndiGo’s counsel confirmed that refunds for cancelled tickets have been processed and that a mechanism (including vouchers with a validity of 12 months) is being finalized to compensate stranded passengers. The court asked what the utility of the vouchers would be if they were not used within the stipulated time and directed IndiGo to file a detailed affidavit within two weeks detailing the refunds, compensation, and assistance. The next hearing in the case will be on February 25, 2026.

The bench emphasized the need to prioritize passenger welfare, adherence to DGCA regulations, prevent recurrence of such incidents, and examine past issues such as night landing limits and fare regulation. The earlier hearing (December 2025) had highlighted safety concerns, fare hikes, and orders for immediate compensation. IndiGo described the situation as unprecedented in its 19-year history, attributing it to unforeseen factors under ongoing review.

This represents significant regulatory action amid challenges facing India’s aviation sector.