IndiGo, Mumbai airport get Centre's notice over passengers eating on tarmac
A video of passengers eating on the tarmac at Mumbai Airport went viral on social media on Monday.
The ministry of civil aviation on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo Airlines and Mumbai airport after a video of passengers sitting and eating on the tarmac went viral on social media. The notice was issued after Union minister of civil aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting with all ministry officials on Monday night.
According to the notice, both IndiGo Airlines and the Mumbai airport were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers, reported news agency ANI.
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 fro the aircraft and an allocated boarding gate. “This further added to passenger woes and deprived them the opportunity to avail basic facilities like restrooms and refreshments at the terminal,” it added.
Also read: Delhi man who hit IndiGo pilot over delay was headed for honeymoon in Goa
The aviation ministry has sought a reply from the IndiGo and the Mumbai airport by the end of the day over the incident. “If replies are not received in the given time then enforcement action including financial penalty will be initiated,” the ministry said.
Responding to the notice, IndiGo said in a statement,"IndiGo is in receipt of a show cause notice from MoCA's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) with regard to flight 6E 2195 from Goa to Delhi, diverted to Mumbai on January 14, 2024. IndiGo has already initiated an internal enquiry to address…"
On Monday night, a video of passengers onboard a Goa-Delhi flight were seen eating on the tarmac of the Mumbai airport. The IndiGo Delhi-bound flight 6E2195 which took off from Goa could not land at the Delhi airport due to the dense fog conditions, and was hence, diverted to the Mumbai airport on Sunday.
Passengers are not allowed to stay on the tarmac, making it an incident of security breach.
Following the video, the Mumbai airport claimed that the airport operator in coordination with the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the CISF cordoned off the passengers into a safety zone as “passengers refused to get into the airline coach and proceed to the terminal building”. The officials added that the passengers were kept under the strict watch of the airline authorities and security until further actions were taken.