“The question is why, at all, this crisis arose and what have you been doing?” a bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said and directed the government and the airline to take steps to adequately compensate the affected persons.
The court asked the authorities if they were “helpless” or they could have taken action against IndiGo after it failed to implement Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, including pilot rest rules, by November 1 — which they blamed for the crisis.
The high court said that besides the trouble and harassment caused to the stranded passengers, the question is of the losses caused to the country’s economy.
Raising the issue of surge pricing, the bench also asked how other airlines could take advantage of the crisis situation and charge hefty sums for tickets from the passengers.
“The ticket which was available for Rs 5,000, the prices went up to Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. If there was a crisis, how could other airlines be permitted to take advantage? How can it (ticket price) go up to Rs 35,000 and Rs 39,000? How could other airlines start charging? It’s like a pound of flesh, how could this happen,” asked the bench, which heard the matter for more than one-and-a-half hours.
The bench directed that by January 22, the next date of hearing, if the inquiry initiated by a committee into the disruption in flight operations over the past week is complete, its report should be submitted to the court in a sealed cover. “We appreciate the steps taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA, but what bothers us is how such a situation was allowed to precipitate, leading to the stranding of lakhs of passengers unattended at airports across the country.
“This has not only caused inconvenience to the passengers but also affected the economy, as in the present day, fast movement of passengers is an important aspect to keep the economy functioning,” the bench said.
The court was informed by the counsel for the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that the statutory mechanism was totally in place and a show-cause notice was issued to IndiGo, which apologised profusely.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the ministry and DGCA, said the crisis precipitated on account of various non-compliances of the guidelines issued by the authorities from time to time, including flight duty hours of crew members.
He said the unprecedented price surge has been controlled and capped, which had never been done before. He added that from time to time, the authorities have asked IndiGo for the timely implementation of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) provisions.
He said repeated extensions were given to airlines to implement FDTL rules, which include pilot rest rules, and when the deadline of November 1 came, other airlines fell in line but IndiGo did not.
To this, the bench said, “In case any airline failed to adhere, what is the provision available to you? Are you helpless? So you are expressing your inability. What action could you have taken against them for failure to adhere?”
The court, which was hearing a PIL seeking directions to the Centre to provide support and refunds to passengers affected by the cancellation of hundreds of flights by IndiGo, said these steps have been taken by the government once the crisis erupted.
“The question is why, at all, this crisis arose and what have you been doing?” it said.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing IndiGo, informed the court that the crisis occurred on account of a multitude of factors, including unforeseen issues like technical glitches and adverse weather conditions in North India.
The court directed the airline to make immediate arrangements for compensating the stranded passengers, not only for the cancellation of flights but for other troubles caused to them.
“What about the agony? Because they faced hostile staff. Think of those who got stranded for a week,” it told Sethi.
“Since a committee has already been constituted where IndiGo will have an opportunity to put forth its case, we refrain from making any observation as to the reason for the disruptions of flight operations of the airline.
“While we have taken cognisance of the issue in public interest, we make it clear that the observations are aimed to ensure that best public interest is served both by the government and IndiGo,” the bench said.
The court directed the authorities to ensure that the situation normalises soon and all airlines employ an adequate number of pilots so that FDTL provisions are followed.
It further asked the government why it did not implement FDTL rules in time and questioned whether the failure to timely implement the rules would not compromise passengers’ safety.
“If a pilot is supposed to make two landings in a night and he is doing six. This means he is compromising with passengers’ safety,” the bench said.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by advocates Akhil Rana and Utkarsh Sharma seeking a judicial inquiry into the IndiGo crisis. The plea also sought fair compensation to people whose flights were cancelled and relief for people stuck at the airports.
The court, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the PIL was filed without any research and documentation.
On Wednesday, IndiGo cancelled nearly 220 flights at three major airports.
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.