TIRUCHY: A male passenger flying to the city from Chennai on Tuesday was handed over to the Airport police after allegedly smoking inside the aircraft toilet.
Sources said the cabin crew in an IndiGo flight caught the passenger in the act mid-air and reminded him of safety protocols.
The passenger, however, entered into an argument with the crew. Following this, the passenger was handed over to the police once the flight landed in Tiruchy around 2.15 pm.
While police officials confirmed that a complaint was received, no FIR was registered as they said the airline accepted the passenger’s apology. “He apologised for carrying a lighter, and the airline did not press charges. Thus we issued a community service register (CSR) receipt instead,” a police official said.
The incident, however, raised concerns over lapses in security screening at the Chennai international airport. Questions emerge about how a lighter -- a restricted item -- passed through security screening undetected.
“Regardless of the explanation, it remains unclear how security missed detecting the lighter during screening,” an airline official said.
Meanwhile, sources said that an internal inquiry has been initiated to ascertain the cause for the breach.