The Minister of Civil Aviation has issued show cause notices to Indigo and Mumbai Airport after a video of passengers eating on the tarmac at Mumbai Airport had gone viral on social media. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia reportedly held a meeting with all ministry officials at midnight. In the early hours of Tuesday, MoCA's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued show-cause notices to Indigo and Mumbai Airport.
As per the notices, the ministry noted that “both Indigo and MIAL were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport”.
"Both Indigo and Mumbai airport were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport," the statement said.
"The aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 (instead of a Contact Stand - an aircraft parking stand that is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate), which further added to passenger woes and deprived them the opportunity to avail basic facilities like rest rooms and refreshments at the terminal," the notice said.
The notice to IndiGo has been issued for the violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023, AvSec Order 02/2019 and order dated 21.09.2021 regarding failure to observe due aviation security procedures in respect of Flight no. 6E 2195 which landed at Mumbai Airport at 2321 hrs. on 14.01.2024 as a diversion case.
The notice says that Indigo allowed disembarkation of passengers from flight 6E 2195 on to the apron and then boarded them on to flight 6E 2091 on 15.01.2024 at Mumbai airport, without following the procedure of security screening, which is in violation of the above mentioned orders. Further, the incident was not reported to BCAS by the aircraft operator which attributes to violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023.
The show-cause notice to MIAL has been issued for the violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 which is regarding failure to report an incident in respect of Flight no. 6E 2195 which landed at the Mumbai Airport. The ASG of Mumbai was also not forewarned about the situation, the Ministry said.
The ministry has noted that both the bodies will have to reply by January 16, 2024. If replies are not received in the given time, then enforcement action including financial penalty will be initiated, it said.
Social media platforms are flooded with videos and images showing stranded passengers sitting on the tarmac beside an aircraft in Mumbai, casually enjoying meals. This unusual scene was a result of the extensive flight disruptions experienced at Delhi airport due to dense fog on the previous day.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 09.15 am on Sunday but did not depart till evening and eventually landed in Mumbai at 05.12 am on Monday.
IndiGo on Tuesday issued a statement after a video showing passengers of the airline's Delhi-Goa flight having food on the tarmac went viral.
"We are aware of the incident involving IndiGo flight 6E2195 from Goa to Delhi on January 14, 2024. The flight was diverted to Mumbai due to low visibility conditions in Delhi. We sincerely apologise to our customers and are currently looking into the incident. We will take necessary steps to avoid any such instances in the future," the airline said in a statement.
After being criticised over flight delays and mismanagement, the airline said in a statement that this was due to "operational reasons" that were beyond its control.
"We regret this discomfort and assure you that it is never our intent to disrupt the travel plans of our flyers. However, at times, due to certain operational reasons, such delays are beyond the control of the airline. We look forward to your kind understanding," the airline said.
Till November, IndiGo operated over 2,000 flights per day, and covered 86 domestic and 32 international destinations. In the first half of FY24, IndiGo posted a net profit of over Rs 3,000 crore. It holds the sixth position in global market capitalisation, having reached a market value of $13.80 billion.