The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industries has sought the Union Home Ministry to conduct an enquiry into an incident in which a few Air India Express officials and staff were left stranded inside the Madurai airport for nearly one hour on Tuesday night reportedly after CISF personnel locked the doors.
In a statement, its president, N. Jegatheesan, said the CISF personnel were refusing to cooperate with the operation of Madurai-Singapore flight.
The flight services that were stopped due to COVID-19 resumed on Tuesday.
While the flight's scheduled departure was 9.35 p.m. from Madurai Airport, the CISF personnel had locked the doors of the airport terminal building at 9.30 p.m. itself, Mr. Jegatheesan charged.
"About 20 Air India Express staff could not leave the terminal building after their work. Only after the issue was taken up with the Airport Director, the CISF personnel opened the doors. The employees were left stranded for nearly one hour late in the night," Mr. Jegatheesan said.
Stating that the present timing of the Madurai-Singapore flight was ideal not only for the passengers, but also for export of perishable goods like fruits, vegetables and flowers, the statement said that 5,259 kgs of cargo were exported on Tuesday alone.
Stating that the CISF personnel were refusing to cooperate for operation of the flight claiming that they did not have any order for the same from the Union Home Ministry, the Chamber wanted the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Union Home Ministry to take immediate steps to ensure uninterrupted services of Madurai-Singapore flight.
Besides probing into the incident, he sought suitable action against the erring officials.
