IndiGo emergency exit opening: 'Tejasvi Surya himself reported it to crew, apologised for delay,' says Scindia

NEW DELHI: Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya had "himself reported" to crew after inadvertently opening the emergency exit of an IndiGo ATR while the aircraft was on ground at Chennai airport on December 10. The MP had then "apologised" for the about two-hour delay caused in the flight's departure to Tiruchirapalli as the aircraft had to undergo checks before being allowed to take off.

"Tejasvi Surya himself reported that incident. Based on which, the full protocol was followed as DGCA has itself investigated and enunciated. After the full protocol was followed, pressurisation and other checks were done, the aircraft was allowed to take off. He (Surya) himself apologised for the delay caused. The incident happened in ground. The person concerned, in this case Surya, himself reported it to the crew and the pilot," Scindia told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham event in Delhi on Wednesday (watch here).

He added that safety was not compromised as the exit was opened when the aircraft was on ground.

In a statement Tuesday, IndiGo had said: “A passenger travelling on Flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on December 10, 2022, accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process, while the aircraft was stationary on ground. The passenger immediately apologised for his action. As per standard operating procedures, the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight's departure.”

Since the emergency exit was opened before push back was initiated, the matter does not pertain to air safety. It is upto the airline to treat this as a case of unruly behaviour by a passenger or a genuine mistake. IndiGo’s statement veers towards the latter as it says the same happened “accidentally.”

A senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation official had said: “The event of December 10, 2022, was duly reported. It appears that by mistake, the right side emergency exit got opened by a passenger while the aircraft was on ground. The crew took note and resultantly, all appropriate airworthiness actions such as reinstalling of door and pressurisation checks were carried out before the release of the aircraft for departure. No safety was compromised.”

The regulator is probing the incident.


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