Extra Passenger on IndiGo Flight; Plane Returns for Drop Off

An oversight by crew members led to an IndiGo flight having more passengers than seats in the aircraft.

The flight, scheduled for May 21, 2024 from Mumbai to Varanasi, was all set to depart when a confirmed passenger was late. Thinking of the passenger as a no-show, a standby passenger was allowed to take the empty seat. The standby passenger was also an IndiGo employee. However, the no-show passenger did turn up at the last minute.

The standby passenger was then left standing at the rear of the plane, and the crew only noticed the lapse when the plane had already started taxiing on the runway to take off. The cabin crew then informed the pilot of the same and the plane was turned around to drop off the standby passenger at the bay. It was also later revealed that the standby passenger was only travelling with a cabin bag and no check-in luggage.

IndiGo published a statement regarding the issue: “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 prior to the departure of the aircraft, and the standby passenger was deboarded. 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.” DGCA and BCAS are also said to be probing in the case.