IndiGo said relocating flights may cause inconvenience to passengers. (File)
Budget carrier IndiGo on Saturday said it would comply with the Supreme Court order and shift some of its flights to T2 terminal at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport in the coming weeks.
On Friday, the top court rejected IndiGo's plea challenging a Delhi High Court order to shift its operations partially from Terminal 1 (T1) of the IGI Airport here to Terminal 2 (T2).
With IndiGo finally agreeing to shift partial operations, the airport operator can now start expansion work at the overcrowded T1.
IndiGo deferentially accepts the decision of the top court and shall implement the order in the coming weeks, in close coordination with Delhi International Airport Limited, the airline said in a statement today.
The SC has given IndiGo and SpiceJet time till March 3 to approach airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) for suggesting which of their flights can be shifted from T1 to T2.
The airline, however, reiterated that relocating some of its flight may cause inconvenience to passengers.
"IndiGo has maintained consistently in all forums that shifting of only a part of its operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 would not only cause grave inconvenience and confusion amongst passengers, it will also reduce flight options for passengers connecting through Delhi," as per the statement.
IndiGo added that it will be one of the only two airlines to operate from three different terminals of one airport.
Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju lamented that despite the government's best efforts, there was a delay in upgradation of the domestic terminal at IGI.
"I would say a delay (in shifting operations) has resulted in strengthening of infrastructure getting delayed. This is the result of it. We tried to avoid it. We tried to get everyone together and take it forward and it didn't happen. The time-frame has gone haywire," the minister said at a media interaction.
The DIAL opened the revamped T2 in October after seven years, but so far GoAir is the only airline that has shifted its entire operations from T1.
IGI's T1 has a capacity of 20 million passengers per annum, but it handled as many as 24 million passengers in 2016-17.
As per DIAL's masterplan, departure terminal T1D would be merged with arriving terminal T1C and then expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers per annum.