Passenger with a ticket to Delhi accidentally boarded a flight to Mumbai: what happened next
A passenger who was supposed to fly to Delhi found himself on board a flight bound for to Mumbai after landing at Aurangabad airport.
The confusion occurred when a passenger with a ticket to Delhi boarded an IndiGo flight departing Mumbai at 18:30. Meanwhile, the flight bound for Delhi was scheduled to depart at 7 pm. The mistake was discovered only after the passenger found another person occupying the seat he thought was meant for him, Times Now reports.
Even though the plane doors were already closed, the passenger expressed concern about his seat. A subsequent check of the tickets by the crew revealed that the man's direct destination was Delhi.
Upon receiving the information, the flight captain immediately relayed the message to ground staff, which led to the passenger's removal from the aircraft. After disembarking, the passenger was again subjected to security checks before boarding the correct flight.
IndiGo Airlines acknowledged the incident and assured that the investigation is ongoing. In a statement, the airline attributed the incident to an operational oversight and expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to the passenger. They promised to strengthen their procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Aurangabad Airport has initiated an internal investigation into the incident. Director Sharad Yeole confirmed their request to IndiGo Airlines for more information on the matter.
The incident has confused airport officials, security personnel, and aviation experts. Officials expressed concern over the apparent failure in the airline's ground operations, given the presence of numerous security checks designed to prevent such incidents.
Aviation experts called the incident a serious security breach and called for a thorough investigation at the highest level to address the shortcomings.