New Delhi: In a stinging intervention, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday took cognizance of the unprecedented IndiGo flight disruptions and demanded that the Centre explain how the crisis spiralled into a nationwide shutdown of operations.

The court’s remarks come amid mass cancellations that have grounded over 4,600 flights in the past nine days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across India.

A bench led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya grilled the government on the systemic failure that allowed such a massive operational collapse. “Question is, why did such a situation precipitate? Who is responsible? It is not [just a question of individual passengers stranded at airports. The question is a loss to the economy,” the Chief Justice said, as quoted by LiveLaw.

The court expressed “deep concern” over continuous passenger distress, observing that the week-long chaos had triggered a secondary crisis — a steep, “unreasonable surge” in airfares charged by other airlines.

The bench also asked the Centre whether any mechanisms were being implemented to compensate affected passengers and whether steps had been taken to ensure IndiGo staff were acting responsibly during the disruption.

“The situation created in the past week has raised an alarm. The disruption has caused passengers continued inconvenience… such disruption has even resulted in an unreasonable surge in fares,” the bench noted.

While the HC criticised the PIL submitted before it — stating that it lacked adequate research, statutory backing, and evidence — it nevertheless chose to intervene given the scale of public impact.

“However, about public interest, we have taken cognizance,” the court said, directing the Centre to file a detailed response by December 20.

The IndiGo crisis, which began with widespread crew shortages and snowballed into nationwide cancellations, has now become a legal and regulatory flashpoint, with both the judiciary and aviation authorities under pressure to restore normalcy.