Row over reports that BJP MP opened flight’s emergency exit

Media reports quoted what they called eyewitnesses as saying that 32-year-old Bengaluru South MP Surya was the passenger who opened the emergency gate. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the reports, which sparked a massive political row.

New Delhi: A political row erupted on Tuesday over a person on board an IndiGo flight in Chennai opening the emergency exit door before take-off, with the Congress in Karnataka citing media reports to allege that the passenger in question was Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya.

MP Tejasvi Surya (HT PHOTO)

In a statement on Tuesday, IndiGo said that a passenger travelling on flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on December 10, 2022, accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process. The flight was scheduled to take off at 10:05am but was delayed by two-and-a-half hours.

The airline, however, did not reveal the identity of the passenger.

“The passenger immediately apologised for the action. As per SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight’s departure,” it said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a DGCA official said that they were informed about the incident, and it appeared that the passenger opened the gate “by mistake”.

“The event was duly reported. It appears that by mistake, the RH (right-hand) emergency exit was opened by a passenger while the aircraft was on the ground. The crew took note and resultantly, all appropriate Airworthiness actions such as reinstalling the door, pressurization check, etc. were carried out before the release of the aircraft for departure. No safety was compromised” a DGCA official said.

Media reports quoted what they called eyewitnesses as saying that 32-year-old Bengaluru South MP Surya was the passenger who opened the emergency gate. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the reports, which sparked a massive political row.

“Tejasvi Surya is an example of what will happen if children playing games are given proprietorship. Why play a prank on the lives of passengers… What was the MP’s intention?...Why was he transferred to the back seat after apologising? “ the Karnataka Congress said in a series of tweets in Kannada.

The party’s Karnataka unit chief also took a dig at the BJP over the incident, tweeting: “For a safe take-off and landing, always fly with Congress.”

HT reached out Surya for a comment but did not get one immediately. The BJP, too, did not issue a statement on the incident or respond to queries seeking comment.

"Much like a pressure cooker lid, the emergency door becomes impossible to open when the aircraft cabin is fully pressurized during flight. When on ground, the cabin is not pressurized and this at times causes the door to pop out with the slightest of weight on the handle," said Mark D Martin MRAeS, CEO of Martin Consulting.

"Unlike the Boeing over-wing emergency exit door that hinges out, the Airbus has an easier to handle pull out door. This appears to be more innocent than sinister," he added.

Aviation expert Vipul Saxena said, "On completion of boarding and after general safety instructions by the cabin crew, cabin crew personnel go to the passengers to brief them about how to operate the emergency door when needed As boarding was still in progress, this seems to be a case of a first time passenger or one who has not travelled much and inadvertently opened the door."