Denied check-in, latecomer official gets flight searched
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.04.2018
Chennai: A Chennai-Mumbai IndiGo flight (6E 654) was delayed by 10 minutes after the aircraft which was ready to depart was subjected to a check by customs officials on Sunday morning, allegedly after the airline refused to check in a customs officer who reached late.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 5.20am, but could leave only at 5.30am. Two customs officials entered the plane at 5.08am and left at 5.24am after inspection.
Airline sources and some airport officials said the “search” was more than a coincidence as it came after the customs officer was not allowed to check in.
The officer, of the rank of inspector, arrived almost 10 minutes after the counter had closed, said an airport source. “When not allowed to check in, the officer walked away in a huff saying the flight would not take off for the next 30 minutes, and walked into the boarding area,” he said.
When the officer identified himself, the airline staff referred him to the duty manager, who tried to help him but could not as a majority of passengers had boarded the aircraft. The airline staff, instead, offered a seat on the next flight scheduled to leave at 6.45am.
Check-in counters close 45 minutes before departure and airlines are not supposed to allow check-in after that since they have to follow ‘on time performance’ rules.
Sources said the officer called up his colleagues and soon two customs officers boarded the flight and carried out a check. They checked the lavatories and the holds, besides inspecting the cargo documents. The officer who could not travel by the 5.20am flight later accepted the offer to travel by 6.45am flight.
A senior officer of Chennai airport confirmed the sequence of events and said that customs usually do not check domestic flights though they had the authority to check any aircraft. Airport customs said that they were unaware of the incident. IndiGo neither denied the incident nor confirmed it.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.04.2018
Chennai: A Chennai-Mumbai IndiGo flight (6E 654) was delayed by 10 minutes after the aircraft which was ready to depart was subjected to a check by customs officials on Sunday morning, allegedly after the airline refused to check in a customs officer who reached late.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 5.20am, but could leave only at 5.30am. Two customs officials entered the plane at 5.08am and left at 5.24am after inspection.
Airline sources and some airport officials said the “search” was more than a coincidence as it came after the customs officer was not allowed to check in.
The officer, of the rank of inspector, arrived almost 10 minutes after the counter had closed, said an airport source. “When not allowed to check in, the officer walked away in a huff saying the flight would not take off for the next 30 minutes, and walked into the boarding area,” he said.
When the officer identified himself, the airline staff referred him to the duty manager, who tried to help him but could not as a majority of passengers had boarded the aircraft. The airline staff, instead, offered a seat on the next flight scheduled to leave at 6.45am.
Check-in counters close 45 minutes before departure and airlines are not supposed to allow check-in after that since they have to follow ‘on time performance’ rules.
Sources said the officer called up his colleagues and soon two customs officers boarded the flight and carried out a check. They checked the lavatories and the holds, besides inspecting the cargo documents. The officer who could not travel by the 5.20am flight later accepted the offer to travel by 6.45am flight.
A senior officer of Chennai airport confirmed the sequence of events and said that customs usually do not check domestic flights though they had the authority to check any aircraft. Airport customs said that they were unaware of the incident. IndiGo neither denied the incident nor confirmed it.
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