NEW DELHI: A passenger in an inebriated condition allegedly misbehaved with a woman passenger and engaged in inappropriate gestures towards the crew and other flyers when airborne on a flight from Colombo to Delhi.
As soon as the Air India flight landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday night, he was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
Air India has alerted the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), about the incident. However, with no formal complaint filed by any of the victims at the police station, he has been let off.
Flight AI 278 departed from Bandaranaike International Airport on Wednesday at 7.42 pm.
Passenger Ashwani Kumar, a garment businessman from Faridabad, seated on 9F, told this newspaper, “Our flight, which had departed 30 minutes late, had completed more than half its trip when there was a major commotion among the passengers on board behind me. I turned and saw a man in his forties walking around, fully drunk, and out of control. I got to know that he had molested a woman passenger seated in the 25th row. She was not even travelling alone but was accompanied by two male passengers.”
Kumar added, “When I inquired with other passengers, I got to know that he had molested a woman. A person told me that the man bragged that he was a former army officer.”
Many around were discussing the incident, and it created much resentment. “One flyer told me that the flyer had landed himself in big trouble. Our flight reached T3 at 11.04 pm. As soon as the flight landed, passengers were asked by the crew to remain seated. Then, I saw CISF personnel quietly come in and escort him first out of the flight,” he said.
Air India confirmed the incident. A spokesperson said in a statement, “Air India confirms that an incident of unruly passenger behaviour was reported by the operating cabin crew on flight AI 278 from Colombo to Delhi on September 17. The passenger repeatedly ignored the seat belt sign, used inappropriate language and gestures towards the crew and other passengers. The passengers in the vicinity expressed concern about his conduct and insisted on filing a complaint.”
In line with standard operating procedures, the cabin crew issued a formal written warning to the individual, the statement said. “Upon arrival in Delhi, he was handed over to the police. The incident has been formally reported to the DGCA and the matter is being referred to Air India’s independent standing committee for review.”
CISF sources confirmed that they had escorted the flyer out of the plane and handed him over to the local police. Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI Airport, Vichitra Veer said, “We have not received any formal complaint from the affected flyer. So, we had to let him off.”