Amritsar-Singapore flight departs early, leaving 35 passengers behind; DGCA seeks response

A flight to Singapour took off 5 hours ahead of schedule, leaving 35 passengers behind at the Amritsar airport, which caused massive chaos. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the matter. 

A Scoot Airline flight from Amritsar Airport that was scheduled to depart at 7:55 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, took off at 3:00 pm, hours ahead of schedule. This triggered chaos at the Amritsar airport, and angry passengers who were left behind staged a protest. They filed a complaint with the airport authorities. 

When airport officials contacted airline officials, they claimed that the passengers were informed of the change in flight time through email.

Amritsar airport director reportedly said, "Over 280 passengers were scheduled to travel to Singapore, but 253 were rescheduled, leaving over 30 passengers behind."

The DGCA has sought information from Scoot Airline, a Singaporean low-cost carrier and wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, and the Amritsar Airport authority. The airline claimed that all their passengers were notified of the time change through email.

According to the report, an airport official said the travel agent who booked the tickets for 30 people in a group should have informed them (passengers) about the change in flight timings. The airline flew with the passengers who arrived on time.

A similar incident was recently reported when a Go First Delhi-bound flight took off from Bengaluru airport, leaving behind 55 passengers on their way to the flight through the shuttle bus. 

Passengers left behind were reportedly accommodated four hours later on another flight.

The DDCA issued a show cause notice to Go First Airlines' Chief Operating Officer, asking him to explain why enforcement action should not be taken against them for failing to meet their regulatory obligations.

Also Read: DGCA seeks Go First response after 50 passengers left behind on tarmac

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• Amritsar
• Amritsar airport
• DGCA
• Scoot airline
• Singapour