IndiGo Airlines faced a situation on a Mumbai-Varanasi flight where an extra passenger was found on board, leading to a delay and the need to offload the individual. The incident sparked social media discussions, but IndiGo has assured steps to improve procedures and apologized for the inconvenience.
What Happened?
Overbooking is quite common in the aviation sector, particularly during peak seasons. Airlines anticipate some passengers may not show up, allowing them to sell more tickets than available seats. In this case, a standby passenger was allowed to board when the originally ticketed passenger didn’t appear at check-in.
However, the ticketed passenger arrived at the boarding gate with only carry-on luggage and boarded the flight. The airline then discovered the double booking and requested the standby passenger vacate the seat.
The situation became slightly unusual as the standby passenger reportedly moved to the galley area instead of disembarking entirely. The plane taxied to the runway with the extra passenger still onboard, who had gone through the boarding process. The error was eventually caught, prompting the plane to return to the gate to offload the individual and comply with safety protocols before taking off again.
IndiGo acknowledged the “error during the passenger boarding process” and expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to all customers onboard. The airline spokesperson also emphasized their commitment to strengthening operational procedures to prevent similar situations in the future.