Indigo, Mumbai airport fined over 'tarmac langar'; SpiceJet, Air India penalised for poor rostering

NEW DELHI: The civil aviation ministry on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 1.20 crore on IndiGo in connection with the incident of passengers having food on tarmac at Mumbai airport.

Rs 60 lakh penalty has also been imposed on Mumbai airport operator MIAL over the incident.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had served notices to IndiGo and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) concerning the incident where passengers of a diverted flight were seated on the tarmac and provided refreshments there. The IndiGo flight 6E2195 from Goa to Delhi, diverted to Mumbai on January 14 due to low visibility in Delhi, became the center of controversy.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the reply to the show-cause notice was received on January 17 and was not found satisfactory as the response submitted by MIAL shows that they have failed to adhere to the safety requirements.

The notices criticized IndiGo and MIAL for their lack of proactive measures in handling the situation and facilitating passenger comfort at the airport. The aircraft was assigned to a remote bay (C-33) instead of a contact stand, further complicating the situation by limiting passengers' access to basic amenities like restrooms and refreshments at the terminal.

A senior ministry official described the incident as an "unfavourable and unacceptable experience for the tired and harassed passengers," criticizing the flight operation for disregarding passenger convenience, security norms, and operational issues.

DGCA has also imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh each on Air India and SpiceJet for failing to comply with instructions regarding rostering of pilots issued to airline operators.

Air India and SpiceJet were sent notices for not ensuring that only pilots trained to land in Delhi's dense fog operated flights in the past few days during low visibility hours, leading to a large number of diversions.