Go First airline gets notice over leaving behind 55 passengers in coach at Bangalore airport

NEW DELHI: The civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to GO First (which was earlier called GO Air) airline for leaving behind 55 passengers with boarding cards in a coach at Bangalore airporton January 9.

The passengers were waiting in the passenger coach on the tarmac when they realised that the aircraft had taken off without them.

"Multiple mistakes took place in that flight which includes lack of proper communication, coordination, reconciliation and confirmation. The DGCA has given the airline two weeks time to reply to their show cause notice seeking why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations," according to the DGCA.

GO Air has violated the schedule XI of aircraft rules of 1937.

"As per the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), the airline is responsible to ensure adequate arrangement for ground handling, preparation of load and trim sheet, flight dispatch and passenger/cargo handling and also ensure that all ground handling staff engages in passenger handling undergo periodic soft skill training for sensitisation, courtesy, behaviour and procedures for assisting the passengers," DGCA added.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to an inadvertent oversight in the reconciliation of the flight from Bengaluru to Delhi. Passengers were accommodated on alternate airlines to Delhi and onward to other destinations," according to a GO First spokesperson.

In addition, GO First has decided to offer all passengers one free ticket for travel on any domestic sector in the next one year. The airline has initiated an inquiry into the incident and also derostered all staff that were associated with this flight- till the inquiry is over.