Passenger seen eating on tarmac: IndiGo, Mumbai airport get notice
The Centre on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to IndiGo Airlines and the Mumbai Airport, after a viral video showed passengers sitting and eating on the tarmac of the airport. According to reports, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia conducted a late-night meeting with ministry officials on Monday to address pressing concerns within the sector. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has asked for detailed responses from both IndiGo and Mumbai Airport by the end of the day.
Lack of proactive measures amid flight disruptions
On Monday, images and videos of stranded passengers sitting on the tarmac beside an aircraft in Mumbai went viral. The incident took place because of large-scale flight delays and cancellations at Delhi airport due to a dense fog. Pulling up both -- the airline and the aircraft -- for the incident, the MoCA in a statement said: "Both Indigo and Mumbai airport were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport."
Watch: Video of passengers stranded on tarmac
MoCA highlights lapses
The ministry highlighted specific lapses in managing the situation. It said that the aircraft was designated a remote bay (C-33) instead of a Contact Stand, which is appropriate for boarding and deplaning passengers via an allocated boarding gate. It also said that IndiGo allowed passengers to disembark from flight 6E 2195 and boarded them on flight 6E 2091 without following the screening procedure. The airlines did not report the incident to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, violating security norms.
Fog triggering flight delays, cancellations in Delhi
Over the past two days, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has witnessed chaos as stranded passengers faced prolonged delays due to foggy conditions. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for airlines in response to recent criticism over fog-related flight delays and cancellations. The DGCA has directed that airlines should cancel flights expected to be delayed for over three hours due to fog.
