Emergency exit of Indigo flight got opened accidentally, no safety compromised, says DGCA

The emergency exit door got opened accidentally by an air passenger in the Indigo flight from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on December 10, 2022, the airline stated on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the aviation regulator DGCA said that necessary measures were followed after the incident came to light in the flight and no safety was compromised.

According to a statement issued by the Indigo airline on Tuesday, a passenger travelling on Flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on Dec 10, 2022, accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process.

"The passenger immediately apologised for the action. As per SOPs, the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight's departure," said the airline.

"The event was duly reported. It appears that by mistake, the RH emergency exit got opened by a passenger while the Aircraft was on ground. The crew took note and resultantly, all appropriate Airworthiness action such as reinstalling of door, pressurization check etc were carried out before the release of the Aircraft for departure. No safety was compromised," said a senior DGCA official on Tuesday.

Many incidents of unruly behaviours of air passengers have been reported in the recent past. Apart from "peeing" incidents in flights, a high pitched argument between an air- passenger and one of the crew members of an IndiGo flight had gone viral on social media the last year.

Taking note of instances of unruly behaviour of air passengers where pilots and cabin crew members have failed to take appropriate actions, DGCA recently asked Head of operations of the airlines to sensitize pilots, cabin crew and Director-in-flight Services of their respective airlines on handling of unruly passengers through appropriate means. DGCA noticed a few incidents of unruly behavior and inappropriate conduct by the passengers on board the aircraft during flight, wherein it is observed that post holders, pilots and cabin crew members have failed to take appropriate actions.