IndiGo 'standing passenger' forced flight to return to bay

MUMBAI: A Varanasi-bound IndiGo aircraft was taxiing towards the Mumbai airport runway for take-off with passengers and crew seated upright with seat belts fastened when one of the flight attendants spotted a male passenger standing near the rear end of the fully packed aircraft.

The incident occurred around 8 am on Tuesday when flight 6E-6543 was seconds away from entering the runway for departure. After the extra passenger was noticed by the crew, the pilots turned the aircraft back to the parking bay where the standby passenger was offloaded.

A source said that the standby passenger was an IndiGo employee. Sources said the error happened as a passenger with a confirmed seat was running late. That passenger was marked as a `no show’ passenger, that is, someone who does not turn up for flight on time. “So the employee — the standby passenger — boarded the aircraft. But the passenger running late also turned up and took his seat, leaving no seat for the standby,” the source said.

Regulatory agencies, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security have begun a probe into the lapse. It is learnt the standby passenger did not have any check-in baggage and was travelling only with a cabin bag.

IndiGo in a statement said: “There was an error during the passenger boarding process of 6E 6543 from Mumbai to Varanasi, wherein a standby passenger was allotted a seat reserved for a confirmed passenger.” The airline said that “the error was noticed prior to the departure of the aircraft, and the standby passenger was de-boarded.” “This led to a slight delay in the departure of the aircraft. IndiGo will take all measures to strengthen its operational processes and regrets the inconvenience caused to customers,” the airline added.