New Delhi:
Amid the uproar over a video showing passengers of an IndiGo flight eating while waiting to take off on the tarmac at the Mumbai airport, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia today said the safety violations were “totally unacceptable”. ” he said.
The minister’s statement came after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 billion on IndiGo. Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation also arrested the Mumbai Airport Authority and imposed a fine of Rs 3 million.
Scindia’s comments also come in the backdrop of an uproar over poor air services in northern India and long delays due to heavy fog.
#clock | Hyderabad, Telangana | Commenting on the recent imposition of heavy penalties on airlines and MIAL, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said: “… There were several days of zero visibility. In such conditions, landing and… pic.twitter.com/QJJNPRrwqw
— Ani (@ANI) January 18, 2024
Scindia said the civil aviation ecosystem is working diligently to serve the needs of people across the country. “This is an area that has grown tremendously and will become even more important and in demand. “The highest quality level. Having said that, nature is capricious and we as humans cannot fully control it,” he said at a press conference today. A video of the remarks was shared by news agency ANI.
He said Delhi had recently witnessed very dense fog for several days. Capital cities have important airports, and when such airports are affected, delays and cancellations occur throughout the system, he explained.
“We’ve had several days of zero visibility. In those conditions, even with a CAT-III runway, landing and takeoff becomes difficult, if not impossible,” he said. . CAT-III refers to a high standard for airports that allows for precise takeoffs and landings even in adverse weather conditions.
Scindia explained that it is not just the runway capacity that determines flight movements. He said, “They are determined by three independent variables: runway capacity, aircraft capacity and personnel capacity. It is the greatest common denominator of the three factors that determines capacity.”
The minister then referred to the January 14 incident at the Mumbai airport. IndiGo’s Goa-Delhi flight was diverted to Mumbai due to poor visibility in the national capital. The plane took off after a long delay, but passengers were furious after it was diverted.
Passengers on the IndiGo Goa-Delhi flight were diverted to Mumbai after a 12-hour delay and had dinner right next to the IndiGo plane. pic.twitter.com/jGL3N82LNS
— JΛYΣƧΉ (@baldwhiner) January 15, 2024
According to the Mumbai Airport Authority, the passengers refused to board the motorcoach that was scheduled to take them to the terminal building. Instead, they sat on the tarmac. Airport authorities said passengers were cordoned off in a safe zone.
Sources told news agency PTI that the Indigo aircraft was allocated a separate bay instead of the aerobridge apron. This means that passengers cannot even use the toilets or eat at food stalls inside the airport.
Mr Scindia said a “sequence of events” led to the accident at Mumbai airport and said he “couldn’t even imagine” why the plane was not allocated a parking spot. He said: “Within hours of receiving information about the incident, well after midnight, a meeting was held with all staff within the department and a show cause notice was immediately issued.”
“The fact that passengers were inconvenienced, the fact that they had to eat on the tarmac, the fact that security was breached at every point is completely unacceptable. A notice will be issued within three to four hours. “If a notice was issued within 24 hours of the notification, the necessary fines were imposed.”
In a statement, Indigo said it has apologized to its customers and will take necessary steps to avoid such incidents in the future.
But the Mumbai incident is just one of many airlines have been in the news in recent weeks. In one instance, passengers on an Air India flight suffered a 17-hour delay. In another case, a flyer on a SpiceJet flight was locked in the toilet for the entire flight. In addition to this, complaints about long delays and lack of communication from airlines are also increasing.
Anger grew among the passengers and an unfortunate riot broke out. In one case, an IndiGo pilot was attacked by an aviator while announcing a delay.