The minister’s comments came a day after aviation authorities imposed fines of Rs 2.1 crore on IndiGo (Rs 1.2 crore) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (Rs 90 lakh) for the episode on January 14-15, where stranded passengers of the airline’s diverted flights were seen eating on the apron of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Scindia said that swift action was taken within hours of the video going viral. The Union minister asserted that a show-cause notice was immediately issued to the airlines and airport, and penalties have been imposed.
Watch: Mumbai flyers having ‘dinner’ near runway: ‘Indigo could have charged them for a candlelit dinner under stars’
Scindia explained that the incident occurred during a period of zero visibility, which made it challenging for planes to land and take off. This led to the aircraft in question being directed to the airport and parked on the tarmac for reasons that are still unclear.
IndiGo slapped with Rs 1.20 crore fine, Mumbai airport hit with Rs 90 lakh penalty over passenger tarmac incident
“We have had a few days of zero visibility. In those days, it becomes difficult if not impossible for landings and take-offs…That caused a chain of events that led to this aircraft coming into the airport and then going into a parking stand for reasons that I can’t even imagine. I have repeatedly said that the safety and security of our citizens are primary for us under civil aviation and therefore within hours of getting to know of that incident happening, beyond the stroke of midnight, a meeting was held with all officials within the ministry, and the show-cause notice was immediately issued,” Scidia said on Thursday.
Emphasizing the importance of safety and security, Scindia stated that a meeting was promptly held with ministry officials to address the situation.
“The fact the passengers were inconvenienced, the fact that they had to eat on the tarmac, and the fact that security had been compromised across all points was unacceptable. Within 3-4 hours, notices were issued and within 24 hours of the notices being issued, the necessary penalties have been levied. This or any incident like this is unacceptable for us and therefore the penalties have been issued,” he added.
The IndiGo incident involved diversion of Goa-Delhi flight 6E-2195 on January 14 to Mumbai due to low visibility in Delhi. After a video of passengers eating on the tarmac at Mumbai went viral, showcause notices were issued to IndiGo and MIAL on January 16.
BCAS order states that IndiGo allowed disembarkation and boarding of passengers without following security screening procedures. MIAL failed to report the incident until BCAS sought a report.