The recent viral footage of passengers eating on airport tarmac not only highlighted their poor plight, but it showed the inefficiency of aviation machinery at play and serious disregard for the safety and security by the authorities. After the video went viral, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting with the ministry officials, reportedly during the early hours on Tuesday. MoCA's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has issued show cause notices to both Indigo and Mumbai Airport (MIAL).
And we thought this would only happen at a railway station. Passengers of IndiGo Goa-Delhi who after 12 hours delayed flight got diverted to Mumbai having dinner just next to the Indigo plane (by the way, most of our railway stations seem to be smarter than ever before!) ?? pic.twitter.com/bjFFMMd76n
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) January 15, 2024
The notice states, "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 by aviation ministry further reads, "The aircraft was assigned a remote bay C-33 (instead of a contact stand, which is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate." Pointing out the lapses in handling the already deteriorated situation of delayed flight, the note said that it further added to passenger woes and deprived them of the opportunity to avail basic facilities like rest rooms and refreshments at the terminal.
The statement takes note of the fact that how it resulted in an unacceptable, unfavorable experience for the tired and harassed passengers. "Flight operation was planned and executed without taking passenger convenience, laid down security norms and the operational issues into account."
Responding to the notice, IndiGo said that it was looking into the matter and had initiated an internal inquiry. "IndiGo has already initiated an internal inquiry to address the issue and will be responding to the notice as per protocol. It was also noted that, "incident was not reported to BCAS by the aircraft operator, which is attributed to violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023."
The notice also says, "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." In the case of both notices, MoCA has asked for replies by 16.1.2024, which if not tendered then enforcement action including financial penalty will be initiated against them both.
