The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) fined IndiGo Rs 1.2 crore and CSMI Airport, Mumbai (MIAL) Rs 60 lakh on Wednesday in response to a video of passengers eating on the airport’s tarmac. The regulator stated that the response to the show cause notice was received on January 17 and was not found satisfactory since MIAL failed to comply with the safety standards.
MIAL has been fined a total of Rs 90 lakhs, with Rs 60 lakhs levied by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Rs 30 lakhs by the DGCA. A total of Rs 1.50 crores on IndiGo, with Rs 1.20 crores from BCAS and Rs 30 lakhs from the DGCA.
The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has also issued a Rs 60 lakh punishment on CSMI Airport, Mumbai (MIAL). At the same time, the DGCA has imposed a Rs 30 lakh punishment on each of Air India and SpiceJet for pilot rostering failures for flight operations in low visibility situations.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued show cause notices to Indigo and Mumbai airports on Wednesday following the global spread of a video depicting passengers enjoying food on the tarmac.
“If replies are not received in the given time, then enforcement action, including financial penalty, will be initiated,” the ministry claimed.
The ministry accused both Mumbai Airport and IndiGo for the event, saying they were not “proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport.” “The aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 (instead of a Contact Stand – an aircraft parking stand that is 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 terminal,” the notice from the government said.
The ministry further stated that the flight operation was conducted without regard for “passenger convenience, established security norms, and operational issues.” “On 15.01.2024 at Mumbai airport, Indigo permitted passengers to exit from flight 6E 2195 on the apron and subsequently boarded them on flight 6E 2091 without following the security screening procedure, in violation of the aforementioned regulations. Furthermore, the event was not notified to BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) by the aircraft operator, resulting in a breach of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023,” the show cause notice to IndiGo stated.
The Mumbai airport has been called up for violating the same regulations by failing to disclose the occurrence. “The Airport Security Group (ASG) of Mumbai was also not forewarned about the situation,” the notice read.
The DGCA took action when IndiGo aircraft 6E2195 landed at Mumbai International Airport at 11.21 a.m. on Sunday owing to a detour. The airline let the customers to depart on the tarmac and proceed to aircraft 6E2091, which was going to be their next flight. “The aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 instead of a Contact Stand, an aircraft parking stand that is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate. This further added to passenger woes and deprived them of the opportunity to avail basic facilities like rest rooms and refreshments at the terminal,” according to a PTI report, justifying why the tired passengers sat on the tarmac and started eating.
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