The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a fine of $12,265 to Go First as a penalty for leaving 55 passengers stranded at India’s Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru on January 9, 2022.
The DGCA found Go First at fault for leaving the passengers stranded as it had been unable to take them due to a lack of proper calculations, attributing lack of communication and proper coordination from the airline as the cause of the incident.
The Indian regulator launched a full-scale probe into the event to see if Go First was at fault for the incident or if it had been an extreme circumstance.
The Go First flight was scheduled to carry passengers between Bengaluru and Delhi. Following the investigation, the DGCA compiled a report claiming that the airline was solely responsible as no outside source played a significant role in the incident. The DGCA claims that the airline failed to establish proper communication and coordination between the involved staff.
"Perusal of reply of Go First reveals that there was improper communication, coordination between terminal coordinator, commercial staff and crew regarding boarding of passengers in the aircraft. The airline failed to ensure adequate arrangement for ground handling, preparation of load and trim sheet, flight dispatch and passenger/cargo handling," DGCA said in a statement.
The fine is in effect as the airline failed to comply with the Civil Aviation Requirement Section 3 of the Air Transport Circular 02 of 2019, DGCA further clarified.
Go First failed to comply with this regulation as it did not make the necessary preparations for proper ground handling, flight dispatch, preparation of load and trip sheets, and the loading of cargo and passengers. While the fine was imposed because the airline left 55 passengers behind that it did not need to, it is also there to enforce safety regulations.
On January 10, 2023, Go First issued an apology to the affected passengers. The statement read, "We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to an inadvertent oversight in the reconciliation of flight G8 116, from Bengaluru to Delhi. Passengers were accommodated on alternate airlines to Delhi and onward to other destination."
Additionally, the airline agreed to offer every affected passenger one free ticket on any domestic flight in the next 12 months.