You Can Take Legal Action Over Airline Staff Misconduct. Here’s What the Delhi High Court Ruled

Passengers who allege misconduct or harassment by airline staff can pursue civil or criminal remedies available under law, the Delhi High Court said. The ruling came in a case brought by an IndiGo customer who alleged that a customer-care executive had used vulgar, abusive and gendered language during a call.

Justice Amit Mahajan dismissed the customer’s petition asking the court to direct the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to frame specific rules for handling complaints against airline personnel.

An IndiGo customer challenged the airline’s response

Shalini Tiwari said she had repeatedly asked IndiGo to take disciplinary action against the employee but that the airline had taken no meaningful action. She argued that existing aviation rules set out procedures and consequences for passenger misconduct and leave passengers without an equivalent process for complaints against airline staff.

Tiwari had previously approached the High Court, which directed the DGCA to treat her petition as a formal representation and decide it within 30 days. In a letter dated July 20, 2026, the regulator said IndiGo had already addressed her grievance through corrective and preventive action.

Why the court declined to order new rules

The High Court said the rules on unruly passengers are designed to protect safety and security at airports and on flights. It held that the absence of a similar mechanism for complaints against airline personnel did not, by itself, justify ordering the authorities to create one.

Justice Mahajan said framing aviation rules and prescribing disciplinary measures were policy decisions for the competent authorities. The court’s powers under Article 226 of the Constitution, he said, did not allow it to issue a general direction requiring the government to adopt rules simply because a petitioner considered them appropriate.

The court declined to order further action against IndiGo over the incident. It said Tiwari remained free to pursue an appropriate civil or criminal remedy if she was dissatisfied with the outcome.

With inputs from ANI