Reports allege BJP's Tejasvi Surya opened flight exit, Opposition reacts
What's the story
After reports alleged that BJP MP from South Bengaluru, Tejasvi Surya, accidentally opened the emergency exit of an IndiGo flight, the Congress slammed the party for 'hiding' the incident. In a statement, the airline, without revealing the passenger's identity, stated that a passenger onboard flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process, delaying the flight's departure.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Recently, a series of reports about passenger misconduct on airplanes have grabbed the headlines. Most notable is the case of a man urinating on a co-passenger on an Air India international flight in November. However, the incident was reported nearly a month later, which highlighted negligence on the part of the cabin crew and the airline trying to sweep it under the carpet.
Statement
Passenger in question "apologized immediately": IndiGo
As per IndiGo's statement, the incident is reportedly from December 10, and the passenger immediately apologized after opening the emergency exit. As per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), the incident was logged and mandatory engineering checks were performed leading to the flight's departure being delayed by over two hours. Surya was reportedly traveling with BJP's Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai.
Authorities
DGCA says incident duly reported, AAI contradicts
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the incident, saying that it appeared to be a mistake. It added that the incident was duly reported and no safety was compromised as the crew took all necessary action. However, sources from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) office in Chennai said that the airline didn't report the incident to them.
Details
Flight delayed by more than 2 hours
The Tiruchirapalli-bound IndiGo flight 6E 7339 was scheduled to take off at 10:05 am, but Surya, who was seated near the emergency exit, pulled the door release lever while the plane was taxiing. Following this, all passengers were deboarded and a thorough inspection was conducted, after which the flight took off from Chennai at 12:27 pm and arrived at 1:23 pm.
Twitter Post
Surya's office hasn't reacted to the allegations yet
The BJP VIP Brats !
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) January 17, 2023
How dare the airline complain?
Is it the norm for the BJP power elite?
Did it compromise passenger safety?
Ohhh!
U can’t ask questions about BJP’s entitled VIP’s !https://t.co/BbyJ0oEcN6
Politics
Opposition calls BJP "entitled", demands DGCA take action
Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala taunted the BJP by terming them "entitled" and "VIP brats." Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned if IndiGo reported the incident to the DGCA and called on the authorities to take suo moto cognizance of the incident. Citing a News Minute report, she said DGCA was unaware of the violation, and demanded it to serve a notice to IndiGo.