Go First was penalised Rs 10 lakh by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after one of its flights earlier this month took off for Delhi but left more than 50 passengers behind at Bangalore Airport.

On January 9, as many as 55 passengers were left fuming after a Go First flight took off for Delhi with their luggage, leaving them behind at Bengaluru airport. According to the passengers, several of whom had taken to social media, the Go First flight G8116 from Bengaluru to Delhi allegedly took off without 55 passengers, who had their boarding passes and had checked-in their luggage but were allegedly left stranded on the tarmac.

Following the incident, the DGCA sent a show-cause letter to the responsible management of Go First, requesting justification for not taking enforcement action against the airline for breaching regulatory requirements.

The airline operator submitted their reply to the showcause notice on Wednesday, January 25.

According to the response provided by Go First, there was inappropriate coordination and communication between the crew, the commercial employees, and the terminal coordinator (TC) regarding the boarding of passengers onto the aircraft.

The airline neglected to make sufficient preparations for ground handling, creating load and trim sheets, dispatching flights, and handling passengers and cargo.

Due to the airline's infringement of CAR Section 3, Series C, Part II and Air Transport Circular II, 2019, the civil aviation regulatory body fined it Rs 10 lakh.