SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has indefinitely postponed the launch of a maiden scheduled passenger service to Adampur as the airline is locked in an argument with the operator of Delhi International airport over forced terminal reallocation, The Tribune has reported.

The capital airport ordered the airline to operate the new route to Adampur, as well as around a third of its current network from Delhi, from Terminal 2 due to the congestion of the main domestic Terminal 1. SpiceJet has defied this order and as of now still operates all its Delhi flights from Terminal 1, the ch-aviation schedules module shows.

IndiGo Airlines, which has received a similar order from the Delhi airport authorities, has challenged it in a court. Pending the appeal, the Delhi High Court confirmed the airport's decision, giving the airline until mid-February to partially switch terminals. GoAir moved its operations at the Indian capital to Terminal 2 in Autumn last year.

Terminal 2 of the Delhi airport was opened in 1986 as an international facility but was closed following the opening of the new international Terminal 3 in 2010. It was then partially reopened in October 2017 as a domestic terminal.

SpiceJet had been earlier expected to launch its Delhi-Adampur route in early 2018, becoming the first scheduled carrier at the latter airport, opened last year after a INR180 million (USD2.8 million) expansion. The route authority has been awarded to the carrier under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS, also known as UDAN), a government-backed initiative to subsidise flights to un- and underserved airports around the country.