IndiGo says Delhi airport’s order on terminal shifting illegal

IndiGo has called Delhi International Airport Limited’s (DIAL’s) directive, asking it to partially shift operations from Terminal 1 to 2, as “arbitrary and illegal”, and has sought intervention from the civil aviation ministry on the issue.

IndiGo, asked to convey its decision on Monday on the proposal to partially shift the operations, has rejected the proposal yet again. It is the largest operator at Delhi airport with 300 daily flights and 40,000-plus passengers.

In his representation to the civil aviation ministry on Monday, IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh quoted several court judgments and said the airport operator’s move was unfair and anti-competitive. “DIAL has failed to adhere to a fair, transparent and balanced approach in arriving at any decision to safeguard the interest of the public and airlines. The unilateral decision of DIAL to allow one airline (GoAir) while at the same time directing two others (SpiceJet and IndiGo) to relocate in part and split operations by shifting flights to and from certain sectors is arbitrary, illegal and malafide,” Ghosh said in a letter. Such a decision to split operations selectively constitutes an abuse of authority given to DIAL, he said. DIAL did not share any comment. Last week, IndiGo had said it would require at least 120 days to make changes in its operations at the Delhi airport and suggested rival SpiceJet to consider shifting its operations fully alongside GoAir to Terminal 2. DIAL had asked the airlines to shift their operations partially from Terminal 1 to allow it to demolish and reconstruct the building, which is functioning beyond its design capacity. The design capacity of Terminal 2 is 20 million passengers a year, but is handling 24 million passengers at present.