On Monday, a video went viral on social media depicting travelers dining on the tarmac IndiGo at Mumbai Airport. In response, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued show-cause notices to both Indigo and the Mumbai airport on Tuesday. This move came after a meeting led by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia with ministry officials. The notices highlighted the lack of proactive measures taken by IndiGo and the Mumbai airport to anticipate and address the situation, as reported by a news agency.
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The incident occurred when a flight, originally destined for Delhi from Goa (IndiGo flight 6E 2195), was diverted to Mumbai on January 14, 2024, due to heavy fog. The aircraft was assigned a remote bay, C-33, instead of a contact stand with a designated boarding gate. This worsened the passengers’ situation, preventing them from accessing basic amenities within the terminal, such as restrooms and refreshments.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has demanded responses from IndiGo and the Mumbai airport by the end of the day regarding the incident. The notification warned of potential enforcement actions, including monetary penalties, if the responses were not received within the stipulated timeframe.
Additionally, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS) issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo specifically regarding flight 6E 2195. In response, IndiGo initiated an internal investigation to address the circumstances that led to passengers being seen eating on the Mumbai airport’s tarmac.
The video showed passengers refusing to disembark from the flight in Mumbai, citing heavy fog in Delhi. As a result, a security breach occurred, prompting Mumbai airport officials, in collaboration with the CISF’s Quick Response Team (QRT), to cordon off the passengers into a safety zone. The airport authorities, along with security personnel, closely monitored the situation until further measures could be taken.
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Due to low visibility in Delhi, the IndiGo flight from Goa to Delhi faced a diversion to Mumbai, leading to significant delays. Passengers on board declined to disembark and instead dined on the tarmac. Eventually, twelve hours after the initial delay, the flight departed for Delhi. Mumbai Airport experienced additional challenges, with flights from Delhi encountering delays of up to three hours. The crew of the Goa-Delhi flight faced a harrowing experience during the diversion and subsequent delay, with the flight finally landing in Mumbai at 11:40 p.m., well beyond its originally scheduled time of 2:25 p.m. on Sunday.