Cong targets Tejasvi Surya for 'opening emergency exit', IndiGo keeps mum

A passenger accidentally opened the emergency exit of an IndiGo plane after boarding at Chennai airport last month and the aircraft, which was on the ground, was subject to mandatory engineering checks before it flew to Tiruchirapalli, the airline said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Congress targeted Bharatiya Janata Party's Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, amid reports that the passenger, who accidentally opened the emergency exit of the plane was the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha chief.

It has also questioned as to why the government hid the incident so long.

Neither Surya nor his office have reacted to the allegations so far.

In a statement on Tuesday, IndiGo said 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 (Standard Operating Procedures), the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight's departure,' it said.

The airline declined to comment about the identity of the passenger.

A senior official at aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said the event was duly reported and that no safety was compromised.

According to the official, it appears that by mistake, the Right Hand 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, pressurisation check etc were carried out before the release of the aircraft for departure. No safety was compromised,' the official added.

Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, Karnataka Congress said, 'Tejasvi Surya is an example of what will happen if children playing games are given the proprietorship. An act of children's mischief by trying to open the emergency exit door of the plane has come to light. Why prank with the lives of passengers?'

Sharing media reports, it asked as to why the government hid Surya's attempt to open the emergency exit door, by violating the flight safety rules.

'What was the MP's intention? What plans were there to create a disaster? Why was he transferred to the back seat after apologising?' the Congress asked, while questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi as to who would have been responsible for the disaster if this 'prank' had been carried out after take-off.

'Why is this not being investigated?' it further asked.

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar too sharing the news report accusing Surya said, 'For a safe take-off and landing, always fly with Congress.'

While, All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala in a tweet said, 'The BJP VIP Brats ! How dare the airline complain? Is it the norm for the BJP power elite? Did it compromise passenger safety? Ohhh! U can't ask questions about BJP's entitled VIP's !'

Questioning whether the MP used his good offices to suppress this news, Congress MLA and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's Communications in-charge Priyank Kharge tweeted, 'Why is Indigo so hesitant to name the passenger? Why didn't they report to DGCA? Why is No Comments from the MP? BJP's Tejasvi Surya allegedly opened emergency exit of IndiGo flight, flight delayed by 2 hours.'