‘Unacceptable’: Scindia on IndiGo passengers having meals on airport tarmac
Claiming that a “chain of events” led to the Mumbai incident, he said he “cannot even imagine” why the aircraft was not allotted a parking stand
Following a controversy over the video in which passengers of an IndiGo flight were seen having meals on the tarmac in Mumbai airport while waiting for take-off, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said the way security was compromised was “completely unacceptable”.
Scindia’s statement comes close on the heels of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) slapping a Rs 1.2 crore fine on IndiGo. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also pulled up Mumbai airport authorities and imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh.
Series of events
Claiming that a “chain of events” led to the Mumbai airport incident, Scindia said he “cannot even imagine” why the aircraft was not allotted a parking stand. “Within hours of getting information about the incident, beyond the stroke of midnight, a meeting was held with all officials within the ministry, show-cause notices were immediately issued,” he said.
“The fact the passengers were inconvenienced, the fact that they had to eat on the tarmac, the fact that security had been compromised across all points was completely unacceptable. Within three-four hours, notices were issued and within 24 hours of the notices being issued, the necessary penalties have been levied,” he said.
Uproar over delays
There has been massive uproar over poor airline services and long delays on account of dense fog conditions in north India over the last few days. The Union minister said the civil aviation ecosystem is working tirelessly to serve the needs of people across the country. “This is a sector that has grown phenomenally well, it is a sector that is going to assume even greater importance and greater demand. It is a sector that has to continuously evolve as the number of passengers grow and also service to them must be of the highest quality level. Having said that, there are vagaries of nature over which we, as human beings, do not have complete control,” he said at a press meet.
“Delhi witnessed a couple of days of very dense fog. The national capital is a key airport and when such an airport gets affected, delays and cancellations follow across the system,” he explained.
“We have had a few days of zero visibility. In those days, even with CAT-III runways, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for landings and take-offs,” he said. CAT-III refers to high standards at airports that enable precision landing and take-offs amid bad weather conditions.