Image Source: IANS News
Chennai, May 24 (IANS) The director of Madurai airport, S. Senthil Valavan, said on Monday that the airport is conducting a detailed inquiry into a post-wedding joy ride by a marriage party onboard a SpiceJet aircraft that off from the Madurai International Airport on Sunday.
"We are conducting a detailed inquiry into the incident and a report on the same will be submitted in a day or two," Valavan said.
The post-wedding joy ride has also put SpiceJet in a spot with videos of the celebrations going viral on social media.
According to SpiceJet, a travel agent in Madurai had chartered one of its Boeing 737 on Sunday for a group of passengers for a post-wedding joy ride.
"The client was clearly briefed on the Covid guidelines to be followed and was denied permission for any activity to be performed onboard. The approval for this flight was taken as a joy ride for the wedding group," the airline said.
The videos and images that have gone viral on social media clearly show violation of Covid-19 safety norms, with a large number of people standing extremely close to each other. Incidentally, even the aircraft seats sported the pictures of the newly married couple.
It may be noted that the Tamil Nadu government has capped the number of guests at a marriage function to a maximum of 50 persons. However, the flight had 161 guests onboard, which in itself is a violation of Covid protocols.
The Superintendent of Police in Madurai said that they are conducting an inquiry and will file a case if required. The District Collector's office also said that an inquiry is being conducted.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has de-rostered the cabin crew of the SpiceJet flight that was used for the joy ride on Sunday.
Sources in the DGCA told IANS that it would take stringent action against those found violating the protocols of air travel during Covid times.
