Bengaluru South Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya allegedly opened the emergency exit of an aircraft without any authorisation at the Chennai airport on December 10, 2022. The airline in question, IndiGo, refused to release any statement on the issue. Chennai airport authorities and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials confirmed that the emergency exit on the flight was opened by a passenger, but they refused to confirm whether Tejasvi Surya was the passenger in question. An eyewitness to the incident however told TNM that it was Tejasvi Surya who opened the exit, and that he was made to apologise.
According to eyewitnesses, the cabin crew were briefing the passengers on safety protocol to be followed when the incident happened. Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya was sitting near one of the emergency exits and he was also briefed about the mandatory emergency procedures. “He was listening to it carefully and minutes after that he pulled the lever resulting in the opening of the emergency exit. Immediately, we were all deplaned and made to sit in a bus,” one passenger said.
Screengrab showing that the IndiGo flight from Chennai to Trichy was delayed by 2 hours
The airline authorities and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) rushed to the spot and it took at least two hours to ensure the plane could fly again. Since it is a violation, the MP was asked to apologise and he gave a letter in writing, according to IndiGo sources.
After he made the apology, the MP was allowed to travel in the same flight but his seating arrangement was changed by the cabin crew after the incident. “He was moved from the seats near the emergency exit and was asked to sit in the back. The BJP MP was accompanied by Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai,” another passenger told TNM.
BT Arasakumar, a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson who was formerly with the BJP was also on the same flight. Confirming that something had happened with the emergency exit, Arasukumar told TNM, “The reason given to passengers in the flight was that there was an air leak in the emergency door of the flight. Passengers were asked to get down. We were moved into a bus and only after the CISF carried out security checks and we were allowed to re-board the flight.” While Arasakumar confirmed that he saw Tejasvi Surya and Annamalai on the flight, he was unsure of who opened the emergency exit.
TNM has learnt that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was unaware of this violation that took place at the Chennai Airport onboard a Chennai-Trichy IndiGo flight on December 10, 2022.
Sources at the Chennai airport confirmed that after all the passengers were deplaned from the IndiGo aircraft, Tejasvi Surya was asked by the airline authorities to give it in writing. The MP was allowed to proceed further without any further investigation.
Clause 22(b) of The Aircraft Rules, 1937 says, “no person shall, on board an aircraft refuse to follow a lawful instruction given by the Pilot-in-Command, or on behalf of the Pilot-in-Command by a crew member, for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the aircraft or of any person or property on board or for the purpose of maintaining good order and discipline on board.” Further clause 23(1)(b) talks about assault and other acts endangering safety or jeopardising good order and discipline by intentionally causing damage to or destroying any property.
The issue came to light when Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji tweeted on December 29, 2022 about the opening of an emergency exit door on a Chennai-Trichy flight, with heavy hints incriminating Tejasvi Surya and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai. The incident was also reported by ANI, although the name of the passenger in question was not revealed. TNM spoke to some of the passengers who travelled in the same flight from Chennai to Trichy — IndiGo 6E7339 — which was delayed by over two hours because of the security violation. A passenger who witnessed what happened onboard told TNM that the passengers panicked when the door was opened. “Thankfully it happened when the flight was on the ground. The airline staff told us that it would have been really bad if something like this had happened mid-air. There were a lot of elderly passengers with wheelchair assistance on the flight. It was frustrating,” the passenger said on the condition of anonymity.
There have been instances in the past where passengers who opened emergency exits without authorisation have been booked by the police based on the complaint of the airline. For example, in April 2019, a first-time flyer who was seated near the emergency exit in a Bengaluru-Lucknow flight mistook the emergency exit for a window and opened it. The passenger was off-loaded and taken to the Kempegowda Airport police station and a case was registered against him.
Similarly, in February 2017, a passenger on IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Chandigarh opened the aircraft’s emergency exit before take-off and was arrested for endangering the lives of other passengers based on the complaint lodged by IndiGo Airlines. The passenger was booked under section 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and section under section 23(1)(b) (assault and other acts endangering safety or jeopardising good order discipline) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
According to aviation safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan, opening the emergency exit of an aircraft is a serious violation and it is a reportable incident. “They have to take action and they should have filed a complaint because they have to reset the emergency exit. It should have been reported to the DGCA. This is a reportable incident and just because the passenger apologised and because he is a VIP, it is not something that you can cover up,” he added.
On Tuesday, January 17, the airline issued a statement confirming that "a passenger" on the Chennai-Trichy flight accidentally opened the emergency exit door. "The passenger immediately apologised for their action. As per SOPs, the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight's departure," the statement said.
TNM contacted Sanit Kumar, Director Air Safety, DGCA, who said he is not aware of the incident and asked us to speak to someone in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
DGCA Southern Region Air Safety Director Rajendran informed TNM that the issue was directly dealt with by the Delhi headquarters. “This occurrence is not known to me actually because this is based in Delhi. This incident happened before taxiing out. The information must have been passed to their (airline) headquarters in Delhi and it was dealt with by the DGCA headquarters in Delhi. That is why we are not aware of this incident. It was directly handled by the DGCA in Delhi,” Rajendran said.
TNM also reached out to Dr Sharad Kumar, Director, Chennai International Airport. When asked about whether an inquiry was conducted by the DGCA into the air safety violation that took place at the Chennai Airport on December 10, 2022, the airport director said it has not come to his knowledge. “Once the passenger has boarded the aircraft, it is the airline’s duty to handle them. Until the passenger is on ground, we are responsible but once the passenger has boarded the aircraft, the Airport Authority is not in the picture,” he said.
The airport director confirmed that it is a punishable offence, but added that it did not come to his knowledge and it was dealt with by the DGCA and airlines together. When asked why the airport authority was not aware of such an incident, the director said he “heard about this incident” but they did enquire further with the airline, nor did the airline share any information with them.
Speaking to TNM, Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal said that the Greater Chennai police has not received any complaints so far on a passenger opening emergency exit. “Endangering the life or personal safety of others is a punishable offence. We have not received any complaints from the airline or the airport authorities,” he added.
TNM reached out multiple times to BJP MP Tejesvi Surya and Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai, who was accompanying him, for their response. Neither of them has responded at the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when they do.
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