New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Budget airline Go First's flight operations at Delhi airport will be suspended for two hours on April 1, following an order by the aviation security regulator BCAS related to a violation in September last year.

According to an order, dated March 16, passed by the civil aviation ministry, the airline's security programme will remain suspended from 1200 hours to 1400 hours on April 1 and the carrier has also been asked to take suitable action to minimise the impact of the suspension on the passengers.

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There was no immediate comment from Go First.

According to a senior ministry official, the suspension of the security programme means that there will be no flight operations and the latest directive is a kind of warning for the violation.

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On September 24, 2022, Go First's Delhi-Mumbai flight returned from the taxiway due to a technical snag.

There were 95 passengers onboard and they were shifted to a parked aircraft by the airline's ferry buses, without permission/ intimation to agencies concerned, including CISF, as per the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

In September 2021, BCAS had passed an order prohibiting ramp-to-ramp transfer of passengers as well as their baggage.

Meanwhile, Go First submitted that the passengers were transferred through the terminal building for security check. BCAS concluded that there was a violation of its order passed in September 2021.

For violating its order, BCAS, on January 5, 2023, directed the airline to suspend its security programme from 0800 hours to 1700 hours on January 19.

The regulator's order was kept on hold and the appeal of the airline was heard by the ministry on January 23.

Ruling on the matter, the ministry concluded that there was a violation but modified BCAS order.

The suspension of the security programme of the airline at Delhi airport will be in place for two hours on April 1, according to the order signed by civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal.

"It (order) shall be made effective on 01.04.2023 from 1200 hours to 1400 hours and as a consequential action, no operations shall be undertaken during the above mentioned period," the secretary said.

The carrier has also been directed to appropriately convey to the passengers or take other suitable action to minimise the impact of the suspension on the passengers.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)