DGCA slaps Rs 1.2 cr fine on IndiGo, Rs 60 lakh on Mumbai airport in passengers eating on tarmac case
DGCA slaps Rs 1.2 cr fine on IndiGo, Rs 60 lakh on Mumbai airport in passengers eating on tarmac case
The regulator said the reply to the show cause notice was received today and was not found satisfactory as the response submitted by MIAL showed that they had failed to adhere to the safety requirements.
IndiGo in trouble- DGCA
slaps Rs 1.2 crore over video of passengers eating on the tarmac at airport surfaces online
IndiGo falls into big trouble as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday slapped a fine of Rs 1.2 crore over a video of passengers eating on the tarmac at the Airport surfaces online.
As per the regulator the reply to the show cause notice was received today and was not found satisfactory as the response submitted by MIAL showed their utter failure to adhere to the safety requirements.
Reportedly, on Wednesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had issued show cause notices to both Indigo and Mumbai airport following a video of passengers sitting on the tarmac and eating food went viral on social media. The ministry had warned that if no reply is received in the given time, they will be left with no option but to enforce action that includes financial penalty.
The ministry came dowm heavily on both Mumbai airport and IndiGo and held them responsible for the incident and blamed them for not being “proactive in expecting the situation and to make the necessary arrangements for passengers at the airport.
According to the Government Notice, the aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 (instead of a Contact Stand – an aircraft parking stand suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate), which further added to passenger woes and deprived them the opportunity to avail basic facilities like restrooms and refreshments at the termina.
The ministry further added that the flight operation happened sans taking “passenger convenience, laid down security norms and operational issues into accouIndigo allowed disembarkation of passengers from flight 6E 2195 on to the apron and then boarded them on to flight 6E 2091 on 15 January at the Mumbai airport, without adhering to the procedure of security screening, which is in violation of the above-mentioned orders.
The showcause notice further read that the incident was not reported to BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) by the aircraft operator, attributing to violation of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai airport has been pulled up for the violation of the same norms in regard to the failure of reporting the incident.
The Airport Security Group (ASG) of Mumbai was also not forewarned on the situation.
News edited K V Raman
