IndiGo flight returns to airport after crew spots overbooked passenger

An IndiGo flight, operating from Mumbai to Varanasi, on Tuesday was forced to return to the aerobridge at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) after the crew spotted an overbooked passenger just before take-off.

The incident took place around 7.50am after a crew member noticed a male passenger standing at the rear end of the aircraft when flight 6E 6543 was taxiing.

“It was then that the crew alerted the pilot and the flight had to return to the terminal,” Sandeep Pandey, one of the passengers, said.

The airline is yet to respond to the incident.

Airlines generally overbook to limit the possibility of a flight departing with empty seats.

Another passenger Akhilesh Chaubey, who was heading to Varanasi on a work trip, said, “The flight returned to the bay and the passenger was offloaded. The airline then checked the cabin baggage of all passengers on board before proceeding with the take-off after a delay of at least an hour,” he said.

According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft took off at 8.41am.