IndiGo flight returns to airport

Just before takeoff on Tuesday, an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Varanasi was forced to return to the aerobridge at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) due to an overbooked passenger discovered by the crew.

The incident took place around 7:50 am after a crew member noticed a male passenger standing at the rear end of the aircraft when flight 6E 6543 was taxiing.

"It was then that the crew alerted the pilot and the flight had to return to the terminal,” Sandeep Pandey, one of the passengers, said.

Airlines generally overbook to limit the possibility of a flight departing with empty seats.

Another passenger Akhilesh Chaubey, who was heading to Varanasi on a work trip, said, “The flight returned to the bay and the passenger was offloaded. The airline then checked the cabin baggage of all passengers on board before proceeding with the take-off after a delay of at least an hour,” he said.

“There was an error during the passenger boarding process of 6E 6543 from Mumbai to Varanasi, wherein a standby passenger was allotted a seat reserved for a confirmed passenger. The error was noticed before the departure of the aircraft, and the standby passenger was de-boarded. This led to a slight delay in the departure of the aircraft. IndiGo will take all measures to strengthen its operational processes and regrets the inconvenience caused to customers,” an airline spokesperson said.