Tejasvi Surya ‘accidentally’ opens emergency exit of IndiGo plane

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tejasvi Surya had accidentally opened the emergency door of an IndiGo aircraft last month and the airline did not find the passenger in violation of any rule, according to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation. Tejasvi Surya, the ruling BJP's Bengaluru South MP, has been facing flak over the incident, which happened on December 10 last year at Chennai airport. To a question from All India Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy on whether the government through aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has identified the passenger who illegally opened the emergency door of a flight in Chennai, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh replied in the affirmative.

As per the report submitted by InterGlobe Aviation Limited [which runs IndiGo], the name of the passenger alleged in the incident is Shri Tejasvi Surya who had boarded flight 6E-7339 (Chennai to Tiruchirappalli) at Chennai Airport on December 10, 2022. The emergency door opened accidently as clarified by InterGlobe Aviation Limited. This was not a deliberate action and as per InterGlobe Aviation, they did not find the passenger to be in violation of any rule," Singh said in a written reply.

On whether the DGCA has taken any action, the minister said as per the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) regarding “Notification of incidents and investigation thereof", the occurrence did not come under the category of 'reportable occurrence'. "The matter was investigated by the concerned airline. The occurrence took place while the aircraft was on ground and the flight departed only after completing all the safety checks/ protocols," the minister said.

On January 18, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Tejasvi himself reported the incident where he accidentally opened the emergency exit of the IndiGo plane and apologised for it. In another written reply on Thursday, Singh said as per maintenance procedures prescribed by the manufacturer, the emergency exit door is required to be installed back and pressurisation check carried out before the aircraft is released for flight.