Flight to Singapore takes off from Amritsar leaving behind 35 passengers
Amritsar: A Singapore flight took off hours ahead of schedule, while 35 passengers were left behind at the Amritsar airport.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered that the incident be investigated, reports NDTV.
The aviation regulatory authority initiated the investigation after a Scoot Airline flight, which was scheduled to leave at 7:55 pm on Wednesday, took off at 3 pm. This gave rise to chaos at the airport, with angry passengers protesting against being left behind. They also complained about the matter to the authorities concerned.
When the airport authorities contacted the airline officials, they were told that the passengers had been informed e-mail regarding the change in flight time. "Around 280 passengers were to travel to Singapore but 253 passengers were rescheduled, leaving over 30 passengers behind," Amritsar airport director told ANI.
The DGCA has, however, asked the Scoot Airline, a Singaporean airline that is a subsidiary owned by Singapore Airlines, as well as the Amritsar Airport authorities to provide details on the matter. The airline has said that all the passengers were informed by email about the change in timing in flight.
In addition, an official of the Amritsar airport told ANI that the travel agent who booked the tickets for 30 people in a group had failed to inform the passengers about the flight timing changes. As a result, the airline flew with only the passengers who had reported in accordance with the new flight timing.
A similar incident was reported from Bengaluru recently, where a Go First flight to Delhi took off leaving behind 55 passengers, who were on their way to the airport and were reportedly accommodated on another flight four hours later.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Waqf Bill anti-secular, will snatch rights of Muslims: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as “anti-secular”, claiming that it would snatch the rights of Muslims.
Banerjee, speaking in the assembly, also said the Centre did not consult with states over the matter.
“The bill is anti-federal and anti-secular; it is a deliberate attempt to malign a particular section. It will snatch the rights of Muslims... The Centre did not consult with us on the Waqf Bill,” she said.
The chief minister added that “if any religion was attacked”, she would wholeheartedly condemn it.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards and make them accountable.
A parliamentary committee has been constituted to scrutinise the contentious bill.
