New Delhi . The Delhi High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the ongoing operational crisis at Indigo Airlines. Terming the ever-increasing flight cancellations and delays as a "serious situation", the court asked the Central Government and DGCA how the situation became so bad.

During the hearing, the bench said that due to cancelled flights, passengers had to face inconvenience as well as financial loss. The court also raised the question that when Indigo flights were grounded, why other airlines increased the ticket prices manifold. Terming it as "opportunism", the court asked how tickets which were available for Rs. 4-5 thousand reached Rs. 35-40 thousand.
The High Court stated that delays in implementing the revised FDTL rules and a lack of oversight resulted in the cancellation of over 2,000 flights across the country and the stranding of over 40,000 passengers. A bench of Justices Manmohan and Tushar Rao Gedela remarked that pilot fatigue is a directly safety issue and that regulators should have taken timely action.

The court issued clear instructions that all affected passengers be fully compensated as per the existing DGCA guidelines and the Indian Aircraft Act, 2024. The court stated that any laxity in compensation would not be tolerated.The central government told the court that a show-cause notice has been issued to IndiGo and the airline has admitted its mistake and assured to rectify the situation. The

crisis did not end even on the ninth day.
The country's largest airline IndiGo is facing serious operational glitches for the last nine days. The airline, which operates around 2300 flights daily and has a 60% share in the domestic market, has seen its market cap decline by around Rs 21,000 crore due to the crisis.

A large number of passengers were seen stranded at major airports like Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai on Tuesday as well. People had to wait for hours due to sudden cancellation of many flights or heavy delays. Some passengers also complained about lack of food and water and lack of proper information.