Indigo Flight Cancellations: Plea to CJI Seeks Suo Motu Action Over “Nationwide Chaos”

The plea by Advocate Aman Banka, highlights what it describes as a “nationwide aviation collapse” disproportionately affecting lakhs of passengers and raising serious concerns under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The representation points specifically to disruptions allegedly linked to Indigo Airlines, which commands nearly 60 percent of India’s aviation market. According to the plea, the sudden cancellations, operational breakdowns, and lack of transparent communication have created a crisis that has crippled essential public services and exposed deep systemic vulnerabilities in the regulatory framework.

Calling air travel a “vital public infrastructure” rather than a mere commercial luxury, the petitioner outlines the cascading impact on critical sectors, beginning with healthcare. Many passengers rely on timed flight connections for organ transplant procedures, emergency surgeries, follow-up medical care, and consultations with specialists. Hospitals have reportedly documented missed operations, delayed treatment, and emotional trauma for patients and their families, all caused by last-minute cancellations.

The plea also underscores the damage to India’s intensely competitive academic environment. Students preparing for entrance exams, campus interviews, scholarship assessments, and admission deadlines have reportedly missed opportunities due to the aviation disruption. Many travel from remote regions after investing significant financial and emotional resources, only to face last-minute cancellations that derail their prospects.

The representation notes that working professionals, government officers, business owners, defence personnel, and contractual workers have encountered substantial financial and professional setbacks. Missed court hearings, industrial inspections, tenders, medical camps, and official assignments have resulted in direct losses and affected ongoing institutional processes.

Beyond economic harm, the plea highlights the profound personal distress citizens have endured. Travellers have missed funerals, deliveries, weddings, and other life events of irreplaceable emotional significance. The petitioner states that the “dignity of citizens stands compromised” when they are abandoned at airports without reliable information, adequate support, or meaningful redress.

The letter raises concerns of serious service deficiencies, including absence of prior notice, inadequate refund systems, denial of alternative routing, and limited grievance-handling mechanisms. It questions whether airlines operating in a regulated, high-dependency environment have fulfilled their duties of care under consumer protection principles and fair-trade obligations.

Strong criticism is directed at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The petitioner terms their response “delayed, ineffective, and lacking contingency planning”, arguing that regulatory bodies failed to anticipate or prevent a large-scale disruption despite Indigo’s critical market dominance. The silence of authorities amid widespread public suffering, the plea contends, amounts to administrative inaction.

The crisis, according to the representation, engages constitutional guarantees under Article 21, encompassing dignity, mobility, timely access to healthcare, and uninterrupted opportunities. With lakhs of passengers stranded, diverted, or economically burdened, the petitioner argues that the scale and consequences of the disruption meet the threshold for judicial intervention.

The plea urges the Supreme Court to seek a status report from the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the root cause of the crisis and ongoing remedial measures. It further requests directions to frame emergency aviation protocols that ensure alternative travel arrangements, compensation, and priority handling for medical emergencies.

Another key demand is the creation of a “Passenger Protection Framework” mandating transparency, time-bound refunds, clear airport assistance, and a strengthened grievance redress mechanism. The representation also calls for fixing responsibility on operators and requiring periodic compliance reports to prevent future breakdowns.

Emphasising public welfare and the urgent need to restore faith in essential travel systems, the petitioner states that only a proactive intervention by the Supreme Court can ensure institutional accountability and safeguard fundamental rights.