Days after IndiGo left behind checked-in baggages of all its passengers booked on a flight to Istanbul as a safety precaution from strong headwinds en route, it has told the DGCA that it will do some course correction and give up some of its revenue seats instead.
Following a meeting on Tuesday with representatives from the airline, IndiGo said it would not fully book its flights to Istanbul and leave 15% (29 of the 186) seats on A320 Neo and 29% (49 of the 222) seats on A321 Neo unsold, according to a DGCA source.
On Sunday, the airline left behind baggage of the entire flight. A passenger took to Twitter to explain the ordeal. “My father has his medication in his luggage. He is a diabetes patient who needs his daily dose. Some other travellers were on connecting flights to their end destinations in different countries,” Chinmay Dabke posted on Twitter.
Flying during headwinds consumes more fuel because of increased travel time. As a result, the airline had to leave baggage so that it could carry more fuel.
An airline spokesperson said they had already imposed certain payload restrictions and would be taking extra, adding that there are two flights daily to Istanbul as well as a codeshare with Turkish airlines which will enable them to accommodate passengers already booked, but may have to be offloaded.
It wasn’t clear whether the airline would take a financial hit because of the move. Industry watchers say Istanbul flights have been seeing moderate demand and are not being fully booked.
The DGCA also conducted surprise checks on nearly 20 A320 Neo aircraft of Air India, Vistara, GoAir and IndiGo to ensure they are complying with a recent advisory issued by European Union aviation regulator, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, asking airlines to load the plane in such a manner that the tail-end remains relatively empty.
