Bengaluru-Delhi plane abandons over 50 flyers, DGCA issues show cause notice

A private carrier is under the radar of the DGCA for taking off to Delhi from the Bengaluru airport on Monday morning without over 50 flyers, who were waiting to board the plane on a shuttle bus.

Domestic airline Go First neglected to board over 50 passengers - who were waiting on a shuttle on the tarmac - on its Bengaluru-Delhi service on Monday, prompting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)to issue a show cause notice to the Chief Operation Officer of the airline. The regulator said it is 'looking into the matter', while many on Twitter have slammed the airline for a 'most horrifying experience'.

Passengers took to social media to complain that the flight took off without them. (File)

The DGCA on Tuesday took the airline to task and asked why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations, news agency ANI reported.

A senior DGCA official had earlier said a report had been sought and that 'appropriate action' will be taken. In response, the airline apologised to passengers who were left behind at the airport and said an “inadvertent oversight” in the reconciliation of the flight to Delhi led to the incident.

Reports indicate the airline arranged for a separate flight for the forgotten passengers after realising its error. The original flight - G8-116 - left 6.30 am.

Multiple passengers on Monday took to social media alleging that they were left behind as they were waiting in a shuttle bus to board the plane.

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"Flight G8 116 (BLR-DEL) flew leaving passengers on ground! More than 50 passengers on 1 bus were left on ground & the flight took off with just passengers of 1 bus on boarded. Is @GoFirstairways @JM_Scindia @PMOIndia operating in sleep? No Basic checks!" a passenger, Satish Kumar, wrote on Twitter.

To this, the airline responded with, “Hi Satish, we are sorry for the inconvenience. We have shared your concern along with your details to our team and they'll assist you at the earliest.”

“Most horrifying experience with @GoFirstairways 5:35 am. Boarded the bus for aircraft 6:30 am. Still in bus stuffed with over 50 passengers, driver stopped the bus after being forced. Flight G8 116 takes off, leaving 50 passengers. Heights of negligence! @DGCAIndia,” Another flyer wrote.

A report also said 53 of the total 55 passengers were flown to the national capital on a separate plane, while the remaining two passengers asked for a refund, which was paid by the airline.

(With agency inputs)