High drama prevailed at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport after the woman pilot, Rupali Waghmare of the Abu Dhabi-Kochi Air India Express flight, pressed the ‘panic button’ a few hours after it made an emergency landing here where it was diverted due to bad weather in Kochi. She sent a code of an attempt to hijack the flight when the irate passengers protested against the inordinate delay in the plane leaving for Kochi.
What followed was high-voltage action. The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) alerted all the airports in the country and security personnel, including an anti-hijack team, surrounded the aircraft. But finally, it turned out that it was only a ‘natural reaction’ by the passengers, who prevented the pilot and the crew from leaving the plane.
The flight, which was supposed to land at Kochi at 5.45 am, was stranded at Thiruvananthapuram for over seven hours from 6.40 am. The passengers were initially told that it will leave for Kochi in 30 minutes after refuelling. When the delay continued, angry passengers began protesting. The airline officials told them that they would be taken to Kochi by road, inviting further trouble.
The passengers resisted when the pilot and crew tried to leave the flight maintaining that their duty time was over. Sensing the worst, the woman pilot sent a code to the DGCA that there was an attempt to hijack the flight.
In a swift move, the flight was surrounded by security personnel. Police officials led by DGP K S Balasubramanian and an anti-hijack team rushed to the airport. The passengers complained that they were not given any food and even water, though the flight was delayed indefinitely.
Around 10 am, the passengers, including women and children, were given bread and water.
The DGP found that there was no threat to the aircraft. The crew were replaced and the plane was allowed to leave Thiruvananthapuram at 2 pm.