After a Go First Airways flight took off from Bengaluru with more than 50 passengers forgotten in a bus on the tarmac, aviation regulator DGCA has asked the airline for a report.
The DGCA or Directorate General of Civil Aviation said today it is “looking into the matter” after many passengers slammed the airline on Twitter, calling it a “most horrifying experience”.
Flight G8 116 took off for Delhi from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport around 6.30 am on Monday.
Passengers were taken in four buses to the aircraft. Some 55 passengers kept waiting in one of the buses as the Go First plane took off, according to complaints on Twitter tagging the airline, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office.
The passengers had their boarding passes and their bags were all checked in.
Most horrifying experience with @GoFirstairways
5:35 am Boarded the bus for aircraft
6:30 am Still in bus stuffed with over 50 passengers, driver stopped the bus after being forced.
Flight G8 116 takes off, leaving 50+ passengers.
Heights of negligence! @DGCAIndia— Shreya Sinha (@SinhaShreya_) January 9, 2023
Go First Airways, responding to the tweets, said: “We regret the inconvenience caused.”
Sumit Kumar, who works for Autopact in Bengaluru, was among the passengers left waiting on the tarmac. “The passengers were given an alternative to take an Air India flight at 10:00 am,” he said.
“We were more than 54 plus on the bus. The boarding wasn’t completed. 6:20 am was the flight, and they put us in another flight at 10 am,” he said.