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Journalism of Courage
An IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Varanasi returned to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) as the crew found an extra passenger standing inside the plane since all the seats were occupied. The incident, which was a result of a security mix-up, happened on April 21.
According to reports, a standby passenger was seated in place of one with a confirmed ticket. The goof-up happened because a passenger proceeded to the boarding gate directly since he did not have any check-in baggage. Unaware, IndiGo let a standby passenger board the plane.
Passengers with a confirmed ticket on a certain flight may fly a different one on the same day, subject to the availability of seats. Such passengers are called standby passengers. Airline employees who can take a flight in case of vacant seats are also referred to as standby passengers.
An IndiGo spokesperson informed that the error came to light prior to the flight’s departure and the standby passenger was deboarded. Before the flight could depart again, hand baggage and check-in baggage had to be rechecked too. This delayed the flight.
“IndiGo will take all measures to strengthen its operational processes and regrets the inconvenience caused to customer,” the spokesperson said.
In 2023, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Go First Airlines after one of its flights left behind 55 passengers at the Bengaluru airport. The DGCA also demanded an explanation from the airline. Go First apologised for the “inadvertent oversight,” and offered one free ticket each to affected passengers to travel anywhere in India within a year.
On May 21, 2024, Singapore Airlines’ Singapore-bound flight encountered “severe” turbulence, killing one person and leaving several wounded.
