HC upholds DIAL order on Indigo, SpiceJet shifting ops to T-2

On October 21 last year, DIAL had asked the three airlines to shift their flights to and from Delhi to Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru to T-2 from January 4

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday upheld a single judge order accepting Delhi International Airport Ltd’s (Dial’s ) decision to partially shift the operations of Indigo and SpiceJet from Indira Gandhi International airport’s terminal 1 (T-1) to terminal 2 (T-2).

In another week, the Delhi International Airport Ltd will decide when the airlines have to shift their operations. (HT File Photo)

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Rekha Palli also turned down IndiGo’s suggestion that T-1 be dedicated exclusively to its use and SpiceJet be asked to move all its operations to T-2. The bench said said this sprang from IndiGo’s own commercial considerations and was not made for the larger public good.

The high court bench’s decision came on pleas by Indigo and SpiceJet challenging the single judge’s December 20, 2017, order upholding DIAL’s decision to partially shift the operations of Indigo, SpiceJet and GoAir from T-1 to T-2. DIAL’s directions came as a ‘temporary measure’ to renovate T-1 and expand its capacity.

On October 21 last year, DIAL had asked the three airlines to shift their flights connecting Delhi to Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru to T-2 from January 4. All other flights of the airlines would continue to operate from T-1, the airport operator had said.

The bench said if DIAL gets any such request within the deadline, it should take a decision in a week. If no such request is made, the airport operator should fix a deadline for shifting one third of the two airlines’ flights to T-2, after written intimation.

While upholding DIAL’s decision in December, the single judge had given the airlines time till February 15 to partially shift their operations.

GoAir has already shifted all its operations to T-2, saying a partial shift would “kill” it as it was a smaller airline.