"Scary to know...": Omar Abdullah reacts to Tejasvi Surya IndiGo incident

"As a frequent flyer, it’s very scary to know that emergency exit doors can “open by mistake”," Omar Abdullah tweeted with reference to the recent IndiGo fiasco involving BJP leader Tejasvi Surya.

Srinagar: Former Prime Minister of Jammu Kashmir Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked the IndiGo authorities to immediately recreate the incident wherein BJP leader Tejasvi Surya 'accidentally' opened the emergency door of a plane about a month ago. He said the recreation should be recorded on camera and made public as it is 'very scary to know that emergency exit doors can “open by mistake" and people should know what not to do by mistake'.

"As a frequent flyer, it’s very scary to know that emergency exit doors can “open by mistake”. @IndiGo6E and @DGCAIndia should immediately recreate the incident on camera & make it public. All of us need to know what not to do by mistake," the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader tweeted, following the incident wherein a passenger traveling on an IndiGo from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process last month on December 10, 2022.

Screenshot of Omar Abdullah's tweet

This passenger, who was not named in the official release of the incident issued by IndiGo on Tuesday, remained unnamed until Civil Aviation Minister on Wednesday clarified that Surya had 'himself reported and apologized for the incident'. "When the incident happened, Tejasvi Surya ji himself reported that incident, based on which the full protocol was followed as DGCA itself has investigated and enunciated. The full protocol was followed and pressurization was checked, all the other checks were in place, and only then (did) the aircraft take off. I think he himself apologized," Scindia told a group of reporters on Wednesday.

Surya's name first came to the fore when a passenger who was also on the same flight had claimed that Surya, who was seated near the emergency exit, pulled it open as soon as the cabin crew explained the emergency rules. The flight, which was scheduled to depart from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli at 10.05 am, was delayed by two hours due to the act. The airline, rather unusually, did not confirm the identity of the passenger who committed the act. As per the general rules, the airline usually mentions the name of the involved person and the action taken thereafter in its releases of such incidents.

The passenger further said that the chief of BJP's Tamil Nadu unit, K. Annamalai, was also on the flight along with Surya. He said that Surya later traveled on the same flight, but he was removed from the seat near the emergency exit.

The DGCA took cognizance of the matter and on Tuesday said the event was duly reported and that no safety was compromised. According to the official, it appears that by mistake, the Right Hand emergency exit got opened by a passenger while the aircraft was on the ground.