Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said the emergency exit door of an IndiGo flight last year was opened by "mistake" and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has already apologised for it.
"It is important to look at the facts. The (emergency) door was opened by him by mistake when the flight was on the ground and after all checks, the flight was allowed to take off. He also apologised for the mistake. All protocols were followed and DGCA has investigated the matter. It was found all protocols were followed and pressurisation was also checked," Scindia told reporters.
It is alleged that Tejasvi Surya accidentally opened the emergency exit of a flight from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli at the Chennai airport during the boarding process in December last year.
DGCA said on Tuesday that a passenger on IndiGo 6E 7339 flight from Chennai to Tiruchirappalli opened the emergency door on December 10 last year and it had taken due note of the incident and ordered a probe.
IndiGo also said the passenger accidentally opened the emergency exit door and apologised for the action.
"A passenger travelling on Flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on Dec 10 accidentally opened emergency exit during boarding process. Passenger apologised for the action. As per SOPs, aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks which led to delay departure," IndiGo statement said.
A senior DGCA official toldthat the incident was duly reported. "The passenger apparently opened the RH emergency exit door by mistake while the aircraft was still on the ground. The crew moved in swiftly and all appropriate action to restore airworthiness such as reinstalling the door, pressurisation check was carried out before the flight was cleared for departure. No safety protocol was compromised with," the official said.
Opposition parties have targeted Tejasvi Surya over the incident.
( With inputs from ANI )
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