An IndiGo passenger bound for Indore ended up in Nagpur after he boarded the wrong aircraft from the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday morning. The mix-up occurred because both the flights were scheduled to depart around the same time.
The airline has taken cognisance of the “security breach” and initiated a probe. Three airline staffers have also been temporarily taken off work.
“IndiGo regrets a security breach intercepted by its security staff, wherein a passenger of flight 6E-656 (Delhi-Indore) wrongly boarded flight 6E-774 (Delhi-Nagpur) and travelled to Nagpur. The passenger’s baggage was retrieved from flight 6E-656, after which it was released. His baggage was later sent to Indore on flight 6E-733. The passenger has been sent to Indore from Nagpur on flight 6E-509,” said an airline spokesperson.
People familiar with the development said the incident occurred because the passenger mistakenly boarded the bus meant for the Nagpur flight. The airport’s terminal 1, which hosts IndiGo operations, does not have aerobridges.
“The passenger boarded the flight without checking if it was the right one. The staffers at the rear entrance did not verify the details printed on his boarding pass either. He fell asleep soon afterwards, which is why he did not hear the in-flight announcements,” said an airport official on the condition of anonymity.
The mix-up could have been detected at the outset if the seat number printed on his boarding pass was allotted to another passenger, the official said. However, that particular seat happened to be unoccupied.
The IndiGo spokesperson said the incident was being probed by the safety department. “The security personnel involved (security lead, second lead and skipper) have been taken off the roster pending an internal inquiry. The security of passengers, crew members and the aircraft is IndiGo’s top priority, and there can be no compromise on that,” he added.
Earlier this month, a parliamentary panel had slammed IndiGo employees for their “discourteous and rude” behaviour towards passengers, terming it as an “institutional” problem.
