IndiGo passenger claims airline denied entry into flight 'despite being on time', carrier calls it 'inadvertent error'

An IndiGo passenger, who was already in a coach ferrying passengers to a Goa-bound aircraft at Hyderabad airport, was on Wednesday denied boarding, with the airline saying the incident happened due to an “inadvertent error” by its staff. The passenger was to take the flight 6E-743 and IndiGo said he was late to reach the boarding gate. The airline staff nevertheless allowed him to take the coach to reach the aircraft. [caption id=“attachment_4208941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] According to Times Now report, however, the unidentified passenger, in a video, claimed that he along with a lady and a child were denied entry into the flight despite being on time. “We had checked in well before the flight’s departure. We were given boarding passes as well. We were allowed to board the airline bus to take us to the aircraft. If we were late, then why were we allowed to board the bus in the first place,” the passenger was quoted as saying by Times Now in the video. In the video clip, a lady and a child were also seen in the coach but queries put to IndiGo about their status and whether they were also denied boarding did not elicit any response. The flight, according to the passenger, was scheduled to depart at 5.40 am and he had boarded the airline bus at 5.22 am. Generally, in case of denial of boarding, the passenger concerned is informed about it at the boarding gate itself. When contacted, IndiGo confirmed that it denied boarding to a passenger booked on the flight. “While the passenger arrived late to the boarding gate, due to an inadvertent error by our boarding gate staff, the passenger was asked to board the coach and sent to the aircraft; however, the boarding was already completed by then,” it said in a statement. According to the airline, the passenger was accommodated on a subsequent flight to Goa via Mumbai, without any charges. With inputs from PTI