Flyer opens emergency door, DGCA takes note

New Delhi, January 17

A passenger, reportedly BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, accidentally opened the emergency exit of an IndiGo plane after boarding at Chennai airport last month and the aircraft, which was on the ground, was subject to mandatory engineering checks before it flew to Tiruchirapalli.

On Tuesday, Opposition Congress targeted the Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya amid reports that the passenger, who accidentally opened the emergency exit of the plane was the BJP Yuva Morcha chief.

It has also questioned as to why the government hid the incident for so long. Neither Surya nor his office have reacted to the allegations so far.

In a statement on Tuesday, IndiGo said a passenger travelling on flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on December 10, 2022, accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process.

The DGCA admitted that the emergency door of a plane was opened “by a passenger”, but added that the aircraft was on ground then and the “mistake” did not compromise safety.

“The incident was duly reported… The crew took note and resultantly, all appropriate airworthiness action… were carried out… Safety was not compromised,” the DGCA said in a statement. — TNS

Airlines can frame policies on pets

In the absence of a global protocol on carriage of pets, the DGCA has clarified that airlines can form their own policies on the matter. It said the airlines were permitted to formulate their own procedures for carriage of pets or live animals in the cabin as the final responsibility of safety of flight was with the pilot-in-command of the flight.