India's aviation safety, security regulators impose penalties worth Rs 2.7 cr on airlines, airport

New Delhi [India], January 17 : Mumbai Airport faced a Rs 30 lakh fine from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), while IndiGo Airlines received a Rs 1.20 crore fine from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) related to the viral video showing passengers sitting and eating on the airport tarmac.
The aviation security regulator BCAS imposed a Rs 60 lakh penalty on Mumbai airport operator MIAL for the incident involving passengers having food on the tarmac.
DGCA stated that the response to the Show Cause Notice, received on Wednesday, was deemed unsatisfactory.
"Regulators says that the reply to the Show Cause Notice was received on 17.01.2024 and was not found satisfactory as the response submitted by MIAL shows that they have failed to adhere to the safety requirements as laid down in the Air Safety Circular 04 of 2007," ministry official said.
DGCA imposed Rs 30 lakh fines on both Air India and SpiceJet for pilot rostering lapses during flight operations in low visibility conditions. Additionally, a viral video showed passengers of a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight diverted to Mumbai sitting and eating on the airport tarmac.
Delhi Airport reported approximately 600 affected flights on Sunday and Monday due to dense fog, leading to ongoing delays in flight operations across the northern part of the country every day.