E-Paper
Probe on as man forgets to deboard Air India Express flight in Delhi, lands in Odisha
A Srinagar-Delhi flyer missed getting off, ended up in Bhubaneswar. Air India Express is probing how he stayed on board unnoticed.
A passenger on an Air India Express flight who was meant to get off at Delhi airport accidentally stayed on the same aircraft and flew to Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
The airline has launched an investigation to address any lapses, according to a PTI news agency report.
An Air India Express spokesperson cited in the report said, “On July 30, a guest transiting through Delhi on another flight inadvertently continued on the aircraft onward to Bhubaneswar. An internal investigation is being conducted to identify and address any lapses, while reiterating SOPs and internal briefings across stations to prevent recurrence.”
Normally, airline staff check passengers' boarding passes and baggage during transit as part of standard procedures.
While specific details about the passenger and the aircraft could not be immediately ascertained, a source cited in the PTI report said the man flew from Srinagar to Delhi but didn’t get off, as he was supposed to. The plane then continued to Bhubaneswar using the same aircraft. The crew only realised what had happened after the man informed them.
Also Read: Air India faces 51 safety lapses in DGCA audit, gets deadline for fixing
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has been informed and will investigate the incident.
Also Read | Faulty simulators, training gaps among 100 violations by Air India: Audit
“Repeated announcements are made asking transit passengers to head to the transfer desk. This aircraft VT-EXA was to operate to Bhubaneswar from Delhi also as IX 1128. For reasons not yet known, like perhaps the young man dozed off, he did not alight from the aircraft in Delhi once it landed here at 3.05pm,” a Times Of India report quoted a source.
The above-mentioned sources added, “The crew then informed the pilots, who in turn informed the airline. When this aircraft landed, AI Express teams were there who put him on the return flight the same aircraft was to operate to Delhi. Once he reached here Wednesday night, the airline put him up in a hotel and then flew him to Bagdogra on Thursday.”
