Mumbai: A Varanasi-bound IndiGo flight from Mumbai was on Tuesday forced to abort take-off and return to bay at the Mumbai Airport after an overbooked passenger was spotted standing inside the flight. As soon as the passenger was noticed without a seat inside the flight, the crew member informed the pilot and a message was passed to the airport authority. Following which the flight returned to the aerobridge at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) just before take-off.

According to the reports, the incident took place on Tuesday at around 7.50 am inside IndiGo flight number 6E 6543, after a crew member noticed a male passenger standing at the rear end of the aircraft. The passenger was spotted, when the flight was taxiing to the runway.

Passengers demand action by the DGCA

The crew immediately alerted the pilot and the flight had to return to the terminal. The flight then returned to the bay and the passenger was offloaded. The flight then took off for Varanasi after a delay of at least an hour.

As per the sources, the airlines generally overbook to limit to ensure that the flight shouldn’t depart with empty seats.

A spokesperson of the airlines stated, “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 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.”

Meanwhile, the incident has drawn massive criticism for the airlines, with passengers demanding an action by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

It is being said that earlier as well, the aviation regulator has been implementing penalties on airlines for denying boarding even on a valid ticket. According to DGCA’s civil aviation regulations notified in 2016, an airline is not required to pay any compensation to passengers if an alternative flight is arranged within an hour of the scheduled departure.

The airlines, however, are bound to pay 200 percent of the booked one-way basic ticket fare to the passenger, in case the airline arranges for an alternative flight within 24 hours of denial of boarding.