New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Go First for the incident at Bangalore airport where 55 passengers were left behind in a passenger coach on January 9, citing various lapses, including "improper communication" between the staff concerned.
This is the third time in a span of eight days that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed penalties on an airline. On January 20 and 24, the watchdog penalised Air India for reporting lapses related to incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard two international flights last year.
Following the Go First incident at the Bangalore airport on January 9, the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the airline and the latest enforcement action has been taken after perusing its response.
Go First had apologised for the incident, that happened on January 9, wherein the passengers who were to board to a Delhi flight were left behind in the passenger coach at the Bangalore airport. The airline had also derostered the staff involved in the incident pending an inquiry.
"Perusal of reply of Go First reveals that there was improper communication, coordination between terminal coordinator, commercial staff and crew regarding boarding of passengers in the aircraft.
"The airline failed to ensure adequate arrangement for ground handling, preparation of load and trim sheet, flight dispatch and passenger/cargo handling and therefore, enforcement action in the form of financial penalty of Rs 10, 00,000 has been imposed...," DGCA said in a statement.
The show cause notice was issued to the airline's accountable manager as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for the dereliction of their regulatory obligations. Go First submitted its response to the show-cause notice on January 25.
A day after the incident, Go First, on January 10, apologised for the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to an inadvertent oversight in the reconciliation of the flight. It also said that affected passengers will be offered one free ticket for travel on any domestic sector in the next 12 months.
"The airline has initiated an inquiry into the incident and the matter is being investigated. All concerned staff (are) off the roaster till the inquiry is going on," it had said.
On January 24, DGCA imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for not reporting two incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard a Paris-New Delhi flight on December 6, 2022.
Before that, on January 20, the watchdog slapped a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Air India as well as suspended the license of the pilot-in-command of the New York-Delhi flight in which a person allegedly urinated on a female co-passenger on November 26, 2022. In connection with the incident, a fine of Rs 3 lakh was also imposed on Air India's Director of in-flight services for failing to discharge her duties.
