IndiGo, India's largest airline, faced heavy criticism on social media when its flight from Mumbai to Varanasi had to return to the bay to offload an extra passenger. The incident led to further delays as security protocols required the crew to check for additional baggage before the flight could proceed to its destination.

"A seating error occurred during the boarding process of flight 6E 6543 from Mumbai to Varanasi, where a standby passenger was assigned a seat meant for a confirmed passenger. The mistake was identified before the aircraft departed, and the standby passenger was deboarded. This resulted in a minor delay in the flight's departure. IndiGo is committed to reinforcing its operational procedures and apologizes for any inconvenience caused to passengers," explained an airline spokesperson.

How it Happened?

Overbooking is a common practice in aviation, especially during peak travel seasons, as it allows airlines to maximize revenue by accounting for no-shows.

In this case, a standby passenger was permitted to board when the confirmed passenger did not appear at the check-in counter within the allotted time. However, the confirmed passenger later arrived at the boarding gate with only hand baggage and boarded the flight. The standby passenger was asked to vacate their seat, but instead, they moved to the galley unnoticed.

The aircraft taxied to the runway without detecting the extra passenger, who had legitimately boarded. Upon discovery, the plane returned to the bay, offloaded the additional passenger, and completed all necessary procedures before taking off again.

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