Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMI Airport) and IndiGo were fined Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore, respectively, by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS) on Wednesday, January 17. A video that appeared to show travellers eating on the airport tarmac went viral. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also fined the Mumbai Airport Rs 30 lakhs.
After receiving an unsatisfactory response from the CSMI Airport to the show cause notice, the regulatory authority decided to take action on this issue. The CSMI Airport did not take the necessary safety precautions. Notably, after waiting more than 12 hours for an IndiGo flight, travellers were spotted enjoying dinner on the airport’s runway on January 15. Additionally punished for breaking rules were SpiceJet and Air India.
Why was the airport hit with a fine?
IndiGo faces a penalty of Rs 1.2 crore from the BCAS. While the BCAS fined the airport Rs 60 lakhs, increasing the total fine to Rs 90 lakhs, the DGCA reprimanded the Mumbai Airport for Rs 30 lakhs. Following the viral release of a video showing passengers eating meals while sitting on the tarmac, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued show cause notices to IndiGo and Mumbai Airport on Wednesday. “If replies are not received in the given time, then enforcement action, including a financial penalty, will be initiated,” the ministry stated in its notice. The authorities imposed the fee because they thought the responses to this notice were inadequate.
The ministry attributed the incident to both Mumbai Airport and IndiGo. They were charged with failing to engage in a “proactive manner in anticipating the situation and arranging for the necessary passenger facilitation at the airport.” “The aircraft was allocated a remote bay C-33 (instead of a contact stand—an aircraft parking stand that is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate), which further added to passenger woes and deprived them of the opportunity to avail basic facilities like restrooms and refreshments at the terminal,” the notice continued.
What led to IndiGo’s fine?
The government further declared that “operational issues, established security protocols, and passenger convenience” were not taken into account throughout the flight operation. Authorities served IndiGo with a show cause notice in which they stated: “On January 15, 2024, at Mumbai airport, Indigo permitted passengers from flight 6E 2195 to disembark onto the apron and then boarded them on to flight 6E 2091, without following the procedure of security screening, which violates the above-mentioned orders.” A breach of Rule 51 of the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023, is also attributed to the aircraft operator’s failure to report the occurrence to BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security).
IndiGo has earlier declared that it will be looking into the issue internally. Since the significant fine was imposed, the airline has not yet replied. IndiGo said in a statement, “The Mumbai Airport Security Group (ASG) was also not forewarned about the situation.” The footage of this incident was captured hours after a passenger attacked a member of the cabin crew due to the takeoff delay. The video went viral on the internet. The IndiGo airline and the Mumbai Airport have now been penalised by the DGCA and BCAS for their involvement in this incident.
SpiceJet, Air India, and IndiGo were all fined in addition
The DGCA has also fined SpiceJet and Air India. The request is for each of them to pay Rs 30 lakh. Delhi’s fog caused their planes to be delayed. They received a fine from the DGCA because they were unprepared for the fog. It is stated that on foggy days, these airlines failed to assign pilots with CAT III training to their duties. Pilots qualified for CAT III are prepared to fly in poor light conditions.
