Delhi High Court seeks IndiGo affidavit on refunds, compensation after December flight chaos
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed IndiGo to file an affidavit detailing the refunds and compensation it has initiated for passengers affected by large-scale flight cancellations and disruptions in early December 2025.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia asked the airline to file the affidavit within two weeks and adjourned the hearing to February 25.
The court also recorded in a sealed cover the investigation report submitted by the Union government and aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into the operational glitches that had brought India’s aviation network to a halt.
Additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma, acting on behalf of the union government, told the court that the total penalties ₹Following the investigation, IndiGo was fined ₹22.2 crore. He said that warnings were given to the airline’s chief executive officer and operations manager, and a senior official in charge of the operations control center was dismissed for not complying with pilot duty and rest norms.
IndiGo’s lawyer told the court that refunds for canceled flights were being processed and affected passengers were offered compensation of up to Rs. ₹10,000 per person, priority will be given to those most severely affected.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by lawyer Akhil Rana, seeking compensation for passenger support, refunds and widespread cancellations.
mass disruption
The issue stems from mass flight cancellations in early December 2025 due to IndiGo’s failure to adequately comply with revised flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms, leading to serious operational disruptions.
SHGM imposed a record fine on January 17 ₹22.2 crore at IndiGo, holding the airline responsible for overexerting its flight crew and failing to comply with revised FDTL rules. The regulator also gave IndiGo a ₹50 crore bank guarantee to ensure compliance with regulatory mandates and long-term systemic reforms.
A four-member investigation committee found that the airline prioritized maximum utilization of aircraft and pilots, left a minimal buffer in staffing and relied heavily on expanded missions, stalemate and tight turnarounds at the expense of operational flexibility.
DGCA also flagged deficiencies in software systems, management structure and operational control and noted that IndiGo was missing at least 65 captains when the final phase of FDTL rules came into effect.
Earlier, the regulator had ordered a 10% cut in IndiGo’s schedule, temporarily relaxed certain FDTL norms, imposed fare caps, mandated daily fare remittances and set up a 24-hour control room.
Flight operations inspectors and passenger facilitation teams have also been deployed at IndiGo’s control center and key airports from December 6 to 30 to monitor operations, ensure regulatory compliance and inspect passenger support measures such as refunds, accommodation, lounge access and priority assistance.
February quote
More than a month into the crisis, IndiGo has informed regulators that it will have sufficient crew strength to fully comply with the revised duty and rest norms by February 10. In presentations to the DGCA, the airline said it currently has around 2,400 captains and 2,240 first officers and is in the process of hiring additional pilots to operate without the temporary FDTL exemptions granted during the outages.
In a hearing in December, the Delhi High Court had questioned the union government and the DGCA over mass cancellations and sharp fare hikes and observed that passengers were hit by both operational chaos and “predatory pricing”.
