Tejasvi Surya, a Member of Parliament from the South Bengaluru constituency finds himself embroiled in a controversy surrounding the unlocking of an emergency door of an IndiGo flight from Chennai to Delhi, while it was preparing to take off from the airport. Why did the incident come to light only a month later? What is the public saying? What consequences did Surya have to face? We take a look.
Who is Tejasvi Surya?
Tejasvi Surya is a Member of Parliament from South Bengaluru and belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is also the National President of the BJP's youth wing, the Yuva Morcha.
What happened on December 10, 2022?
An IndiGo Airlines flight from Chennai to Delhi was delayed by a little over two hours after a passenger opened the emergency exit with the flight already taxiing on the runway for takeoff. All passengers were immediately deplaned, and the flight underwent mandatory engineering checks by the airline authorities and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Although the incident happened on December 10, 2022, it was only after a tweet by Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Senthil Balaji that caught the public's eye. Balaji asked by the incident was not being reported by the media and alleged that the perpetrators were Surya and TN's BJP President K Annamalai. The News Minute quoted eye-witness accounts confirming that it was indeed Surya who opened the emergency door while listening to the crew's instructions.
What was the aftermath?
On January 17, IndiGo released a statement on the incident and said that the emergency door was accidentally unclocked by a passenger, after furore on social media. The statement does not mention Tejasvi Surya as the passenger responsible for the incident, as the airline is not supposed to reveal the identity or personal details of the passenger, as per a report by The New Indian Express.
The airline added that the passenger tendered a written apology and no further investigation was initiated into the matter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) claimed that it was unaware of the incident at the time. However, a probe has now been launched by the DGCA into the matter.
What has been the reaction from the public?
On Twitter, users have expressed curiosity as to how the emergency door could be unlocked "accidentally". Users have also called for accountability from Surya for the incident, with experts claiming that it is a punishable incident, as it put the life and personal safety of the people on board at risk. Similar incidents in the past have led to the perpetrators being booked under the Aircraft Rules, 1937.