Reported by Neha Tripathi | Edited by Swati Bhasin, New Delhi
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Go First airline for leaving behind 55 passengers at the Bengaluru airport on January 9. A day after the incident, the aviation regulator had issued a notice to the airline over the incident. The passengers – who were to board flight G8 116 to Delhi – were left behind on the passenger coach, HT had earlier reported.
In its statement at the time, the DGCA had underlined – “Go First failed to comply with the provision specified at para 9 and 13 of CAR Section 3, Series C, Part II issued by DGCA resulted in violation of Para (1A) of Rule 134 read with Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. M/s Go First has failed to comply with the provision specified in para 5.2 of ATC 02 of 2019.”
It further stated: “It is pertinent to mention that DGCA has issued Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section -3, Series-C, Part-II on “Minimum Requirements for Grant of Air Operator Certificate to Operate Scheduled Air Transport Services (Passenger).” and Air Transport Circular 02 of 2019 on ‘Facilities/Courtesies to esteemed travelling public at airports’.” The aviation regulator had said “multiple mistakes” could be easily avoided.
Meanwhile, the airline had apologised for the incident, which it said was “caused due to an inadvertent oversight”. “Passengers were accommodated on alternate airlines to Delhi and onward to other destinations,” the statement reads. It has also announced a free ticket for affected travellers. “In line with our philosophy of customer centricity, the airline has decided to offer all affected passengers one free ticket for travel on any domestic sector in the next 12 months.” It had also said that all staff “would be off roster” till a probe was on.
