Scoot Airlines plane departs Amritsar Airport ahead of schedule leaving 35 passengers behind, DGCA orders probe

A Scoot Airlines' Amritsar-Singapore flight is at a centre of controversy for leaving more than 30 passengers behind at the Punjab's Amritsar International Airport. The low-cost airline from Singapore was scheduled to take off from Amritsar to Singapore at around 7 PM on January 18, 2023, but the airline rescheduled it between 3-4 PM on Wednesday. As the airline took off hours ahead of schedule, it left behind over 30 passengers at the Amritsar airport, said DGCA. 263 passengers who boarded the flight reported at the airport well in time.

India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation is now looking into the matter and has ordered a probe. As per Amritsar Airport Director, the airline updated all the passengers via e-mail. However, the travel agent, who booked the tickets for 30 people in the group did not inform about the change in Singapore-bound flight timings to the passengers, said the Amritsar Airport official.

In a statement, the airline said, "Scoot is aware of an incident involving some passengers missing their Scoot flight, TR509, which operated from Amritsar to Singapore on 18 January 2023. Due to inclement weather conditions affecting departures, the flight was retimed to depart Amritsar at 3.45 pm instead of the original departure timing of 7.55 pm​.

Affected passengers were notified in advance of the departure time change, through email and/or SMS, where possible, based on the contact details provided. Scoot sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused. We are currently working to provide affected customers with the necessary assistance."

Recently, a Delhi-bound Go First plane left the Bengaluru International Airport without taking more than 50 passengers, leaving them behind in the shuttle bus. Following the incident, India's aviation regulator DGCA has sought a detailed report from the domestic budget airline.

Many passengers complained on Twitter, tagging the Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, asking him to look into the incident. The flight G8 116 departed at 6.40 am on January 9, 2023, leaving behind the passengers, they alleged. Go First declined to comment on the incident. 

With agency inputs