The security agency of the Ministry of Civil Aviation has suspended the security training licence of budget carrier IndiGo, allegedly over lapses in the examination procedure the airline was following.
An order issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security on Friday barred the airline from conducting security training programme for its employees any further, PTI reported, citing sources.
"This is a serious issue," the sources said, adding, "Any lapse on the security front can have major ramifications for the country's aviation sector. At sensitive airports like Srinagar, a secondary ladder point check of passengers is carried by airline security staff."
The licence suspension would result in additional cost for the carrier as it would have to outsource its training programme now.
India's regulations require all scheduled airlines to impart aviation security training to their security staff, cockpit and cabin crew either through their own training centres approved by the agency or any other similar authorised centres. Additionally, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security also conducts such training programmes.
IndiGo, which is being run by Interglobe Aviation, was reportedly in discussions with the agency to resolve the issue.
Recently, the Gurgaon-based carrier has been facing frequent glitches in its aircraft, resulting in delays in its flights and inconvenience to the passengers.
Data revealed in January for the month of December 2016 showed that the low-cost carrier's market share fall significantly to 40.3 percent in December from 42.1 percent in the preceding month.
According to the data released by India's civil aviation regulator, domestic carriers flew about 998.88 lakh passengers between the January to December 2016 period, when compared to 810.91 lakh passengers flown during the same time period in the previous year (2015).
Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, Go Air, AirAsia India and Vistara flew about 95.2 lakh (about 9.5 million) passengers during December last year, an increase of 23.10 percent over the corresponding month in the previous calendar year.
Shares of Interglobe Aviation last traded at Rs 857.45 on the BSE.
