Jyotiraditya Scindia says fliers eating on airport tarmac 'completely unacceptable'

The minister's statement comes after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) slapped a Rs. 1.2 crore fine on IndiGo.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also slammed Mumbai airport authorities and imposed a Rs. 30 lakh fine.

Scindia's remarks also come against the backdrop of an uproar over poor airline services and long delays caused by dense fog conditions in north India.

"This is a sector that has grown phenomenally well, it is a sector that is going to assume even greater importance and greater demand. It is a sector that has to continuously evolve as the number of passengers grows and also service to them must be of the highest quality level. Having said that, there are vagaries of nature over which we, as human beings, do not complete control," he said during a press meeting.

As Delhi witnessed a couple of days of very dense fog, the airport functions were affected with delays and cancellations following across the system, he explained.

"We have had a had a few days of zero visibility. In those days, even with CAT-III runways, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for landings and take-offs," he said.

AT-III refers to high standards at airports that enable precision landing and take-offs amid bad weather conditions.

Scindia explained that it is not the capability of the runway alone that determines flight movement. "They are determined by three independent variables: the capability of runways, the capability of aircraft and the capability of the human resource. It is the highest common factor among the three that determines capability," he said.

On Tuesday, the Centre issued show-cause notices to IndiGo and Mumbai Airport over the video of passengers eating on the tarmac.

IndiGo has been asked to pay the amount - the highest penalty to be imposed on a carrier recently - within 30 days, the Bureau Of Civil Aviation Security, or BCAS, said in a statement.

Calling it a "violation of apron discipline", the DGCA said, "It came to the notice of the DGCA through social media that on January 15, passengers of two IndiGo flights were on the apron for a considerable period at the CSMI Airport, Mumbai (MIAL).

"This is in violation of Para 5 of DGCA Air Safety circular 04 of 2007 which directs all agencies working at the airport not to permit walking on an active apron. The presence of passengers on the apron for a considerable period is in violation of apron discipline as it jeopardised the safety of the passengers and the aircraft."