Don't park planes in remote bays during flight delays: MoCA to airlines

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has told airlines that they should not park their aircraft in remote bays and also not allow passengers to disembark at the apron in case there are long delays in flights, according to officials.

The directive comes against the backdrop of the incident at the Mumbai airport on Sunday when passengers of a diverted Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight had food on the tarmac. Regulators BCAS has slapped penalties on IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL for the incident while DGCA has also penalised MIAL.

Against this backdrop, the officials on Thursday said that airlines have been directed to ensure that in case of flight diversion and long delays, the aircraft should be parked on contact stand so that passengers can be shifted to terminal building for disembarkation if required.

The ministry has also said that under no circumstances, the aircraft should be parked on remote bay and passengers be allowed to disembark at the apron in case there is a flight delay or diversion, the sources said.

On Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said incidents like passengers having food on tarmac at Mumbai airport were unacceptable and that penalties were imposed.

The safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.

To minimise inconvenience to passengers due to fog-related flight disruptions, authorities have taken various steps, including setting up war rooms to address issues.

All airlines have been directed to activate an emergency control room (war room) at all six metro airports manned by top managers who are authorised to take prompt decision on all aspects, including any passenger complaint, the officials said.

The situations/complaints handled in these emergency control rooms are being monitored by the ministry on a daily basis. Besides, the ministry and aviation regulator DGCA are continuously monitoring the position of flight delays/cancellations/diversions thrice every day in all six metro airports, they added.

Earlier this week, DGCA had asked airlines to appropriately sensitise their staff at airports to suitably communicate with and inform passengers about flight delays.

Airlines have also been advised that they may cancel, sufficiently in advance, such flights that are anticipated to be delayed or consequentially delayed on account of such conditions beyond three hours in order to obviate airport congestion and mitigate passenger inconvenience.