Singapore-bound Flight Takes Off from Amritsar Airport Hours Before Departure Leaving 29 Passengers Behind

A Scoot Airline flight headed to Singapore took off from Amritsar airport leaving 29 passengers behind. As per reports, the airline had informed the passengers about the change in timings, but the information did not reach some of the passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the matter.

A Singapore-bound Scoot Airline flight was scheduled to leave from Amritsar Airport at 7:55 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the reports. However, the flight took off over four hours prior at 3:45 p.m. This caused chaos at the airport as 29 passengers were left behind who then registered their complaints with authorities. Amritsar Airport Director said, “Around 280 passengers were to travel to Singapore but 253 passengers were rescheduled, leaving behind over 30 passengers behind.”

On contacting the airline, the airport authorities were told that all passengers were informed about the change in timings via an email, SMS, or both and the reason for the change was bad weather conditions affecting departures, according to a report by ChannelNewsAsia. All passengers were reportedly notified on January 15. Scoot Airline reportedly said, “29 passengers were affected by this flight change, and they were notified on Jan 15 through email and/or SMS, where possible based on the contact details provided.”

Another airport official shared that all passengers were informed about the rescheduling but the travel agent who had booked for those passengers did not relay the information, which caused them to miss their flight.

The DGCA has ordered a probe into the case and asked for details from both Scoot Airline and Amritsar Airport. Scoot Airline is a Singaporean low-cost airline that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and the Amritsar Airport authority.

This isn’t the first time a flight has left without all of its passengers as recently, a Delhi-bound Go First flight took off from Bengaluru without 55 of its passengers. These travelers were on their way to the plane in the shuttle bus. They were then accommodated on another flight four hours later. The DGCA issued a show cause notice to the Chief Operation Officer of Go First asking why enforcement action should not be taken against them for negligence towards their regulatory obligations.

Vineet Washington