Tejasvi Surya ‘opened emergency exit’ of IndiGo plane before takeoff

“A passenger travelling on Flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on Dec 10, 2022, accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process. The passenger immediately apologised for the action. As per SOPs, the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight’s departure,” the airline said.

But sources at the airline confirmed that it was Surya, who was travelling with the BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai.

The flight was scheduled to take off at 10.05 am. According to sources, Surya and Annamalai were in the seats next to the emergency exit door. When the cabin crew were briefing passengers on the safety protocol, Surya reportedly pulled the emergency exit door release lever.

The aircraft was reportedly taxiing for takeoff when the emergency exit door opened. As per protocol, the passengers were deboarded, and the aircraft took off only after a thorough inspection. The flight finally left the Chennai airport at 12.27 pm and landed at Tiruchirapalli at 1.23 pm.

When reached for comment, Surya’s office said he was attending the BJP’s national executive meeting in New Delhi. According to sources, Surya gave a written apology to the airline. “An apology note has a set format, and that was filled and signed by the person after the incident,” said a source.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the incident and termed it as a “mistake”. “The event was duly reported. It appears that by mistake, the RH (right hand) emergency exit got opened by a passenger while the aircraft was on ground. The crew took note and resultantly, all appropriate airworthiness action, such as reinstalling of door, pressurisation check etc were carried out before the release of the aircraft for departure. No safety was compromised,” the regulator said.

But a source at the Airports Authority of India office in Chennai said the airline had not informed them about the incident. “We were not informed when the incident took place, no report was filed in this regard,” said the official.

Speaking to The Indian Express, DMK leader B T Arasakumar, who was also on the flight, confirmed that the flight was delayed, but said he did not know the details. “A few moments before take-off, the air-hostess informed us that there was a technical issue and all passengers had to step out. We were all taken back to the terminal, as engineers and security personnel started inspecting the aircraft,” he said.

On December 29, Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji had tweeted about the incident but did not name Surya or Annamalai. —With ENS, New Delhi