NEW DELHI: In a bizarre incident at London Heathrow airport recently, the passenger of an Air India flight from London to Delhi missed boarding his flight by reaching the wrong gate. The flyer had mistakenly reached the Arrivals gate instead of the Departure gate. The aircraft was taxiing towards the runway when the crew realised a passenger was missing and decided to go back to offload the person’s baggage. The incident delayed the trip for 200-odd passengers on board by nearly 90 minutes while the passenger was detained by security officials.
Flight AI 162, an Airbus A350-941 aircraft, was scheduled to depart on Sunday (September 21) at 9.45 am from Heathrow, reveals Flight radar 24 website. It suffered a half-hour delay due to various issues. However, following this incident, it was further delayed by 90 minutes and took off only at 11.58 am.
In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said, “Flight AI162, operating from London (Heathrow) to Delhi on 21 September had returned to the gate shortly after pushback because a passenger who, despite having their boarding pass scanned and being marked as boarded, failed to board the aircraft. The passenger had mistakenly proceeded to the Arrivals area instead of the Departure gate after having their boarding pass scanned at the gate,” it said.
It added, “As per standard security protocols, the aircraft returned to offload the passenger’s baggage and, subsequently, departed with a delay. The passenger was detained by the airport security officials for questioning.”
The flight crew followed the necessary procedures, and the decision to return was made to ensure compliance with security regulations, it explained.