In an unusual incident that occurred on Monday morning, a woman passenger, Wasifa Jan, who was supposed to board a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Srinagar, found herself in Pune instead. The mix-up happened when she unintentionally boarded a Pune-bound SpiceJet flight, and the error went unnoticed by both the passenger and the airline until they landed in Pune.
Upon discovering the mistake, SpiceJet promptly arranged for her to fly back to Delhi on an IndiGo flight. Subsequently, the airline ensured her travel to Srinagar on a SpiceJet flight on the same day.
The airline’s spokesperson issued an apology, expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to the passenger. They assured that they had personally contacted her to offer their apologies and make arrangements for her timely travel to Srinagar.
This incident has raised concerns among aviation officials, as similar mix-ups have happened before. Earlier in the year, a passenger booked on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Patna accidentally boarded a flight to Udaipur instead, prompting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to seek a report from IndiGo in that case.
Airlines have put in place multiple checks to prevent such lapses, including scanning boarding cards at the terminal during boarding, whether passengers use coaches or aerobridges. Despite these measures, incidents like these continue to raise questions about the effectiveness of the existing safety protocols.
Meanwhile, Wasifa Jan’s travel agent expressed their concern over the mix-up on Twitter, tagging the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
