LUCKNOW: A curious case of ignorance came to the fore at Varanasi airport on Thursday evening when a passenger opened the emergency exit handle cover on board an Akasa Airlines flight leading it to return to the apron from the runway. The authorities concerned asked all the passengers to leave the plane immediately.
The flight, bound for Bengaluru, took off with a delay of one-hour after the completion of security checks. The erring passenger was taken into custody where he admitted to have opened the emergency exit cover by mistake as it was his first flight ever.
The incident took place at 7:55 pm when Akasa Airlines flight QP-1491 was ready to depart from Varanasi to Bengaluru. Suddenly a passenger, named Ajay Tiwari, opened the cover of the emergency exit handle. Witnessing it, a crew member informed the pilot immediately.
The pilot contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC), and the plane was moved back from the runway to the apron. As the aircraft was stopped, all passengers were deplaned as per security rules.
Within no time, the airport security and police arrived for investigation. Meanwhile, passenger Ajay Tiwari was taken into custody by Phulpur police after a complaint from Akasa Airlines’ Delhi office. Hailing from Lambhua in Sultanpur district, Ajay Tiwari said that he was working at a cement factory as a boom lift operator in Karur, Tamil Nadu. He was flying to Bengaluru and then planned to go to Tamil Nadu. He was travelling by air for the first time.
As per police sources, Ajay Tiwari admitted during questioning that he opened the emergency exit cover by mistake. He broke down while grilling and said he only wanted to read how the emergency exit works.
Ajay Tiwari was seated at 16A, near the emergency exit. Other passengers told the crew he was acting strangely after boarding. He started touching the emergency gate, which alarmed all the passengers on board. When the cover was opened, there was panic among passengers, crew, and pilots.
A crew member quickly replaced the cover and the passenger was taken off the plane. As per the safety experts, the emergency exit handle has a cover to stop it from opening by mistake. If this cover is removed, the handle can stay open, which may cause the emergency exit door to open during landing and it could be very dangerous. The cover is made so it cannot open by accident. It must be pulled open with force.
Meanwhile, Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport director Puneet Gupta said that only the airline concerned had full information about the case. The complaint against Ajay Tiwari was made by the airline authorities. A passenger can open the emergency exit only after trying hard enough.
Akasa air spokesperson said the safety of the passengers and crew is the airline's highest priority.
The spokesperson noted: “A passenger booked on flight QP 1424, scheduled to operate from Varanasi to Bengaluru on August 7, 2025, opened an emergency exit during the boarding process without authorization. The individual was identified and in line with standard operating protocols, our crew immediately offloaded the passenger and handed him over to the relevant authorities."
"The aircraft was thoroughly inspected and cleared by our engineering team before the flight departed at 2027hrs," the spokesperson said.
"At Akasa Air, the safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority. We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy towards any disruptive behaviour,” the spokesperson further added.