India’s Go First leaves 55 passengers stranded on bus at Bengaluru airport

A Go First flight took off for Delhi leaving 55 passengers behind on bus at at Bengaluru International Airport (BLR), prompting India’s civil aviation regulator to launch an investigation into the incident.

On January 10, 2023, India’s civil aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show cause notice to the ultra low-cost air carrier after it neglected to board the 55 passengers who were left stranded in a bus on the runway.

The airline has been scheduled to operate flight G8-116 between Bangalore (BLR) and Delhi (Delhi) on January 9, 2023.

According to a statement issued by the DGCA, and seen by The Economic Times, the flight failed to wait for the last bus to transport passengers to the aircraft due to “multiple mistakes such as lack of proper communication, co-ordination, reconciliation and confirmation” between the aircraft crew and the ground staff.

After the Airbus A320-200 plane, registered VT-WGE, left, the bus carrying the stranded passengers was escorted back to the airport terminal at BLR. Travelers were rescheduled for a later flight to the original destination.

Although Go First has since issued an apology to the stranded passengers, the DGCA gave the Mumbai-based airline two weeks to submit an explanation behind the “highly avoidable” incident.