NEW DELHI: A passenger in an inebriated condition allegedly misbehaved with a woman passenger and made inappropriate gestures towards the cabin crew and fellow travellers while travelling on an Air India flight from Colombo to Delhi.
As soon as the aircraft landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday night, the man was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
Air India has informed the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), about the incident. However, since no formal complaint was filed by any of the victims at the police station, the passenger was released.
Flight AI 278 had departed Bandaranaike International Airport at 7.42 pm on Wednesday. Ashwani Kumar, a garment businessman from Faridabad who was seated on 9F, described the episode. “Our flight, which had departed 30 minutes late, had completed more than half its trip when there was a major commotion among the passengers 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 said.
He added that, on asking other passengers, he learned the man had molested the woman and that someone had claimed the man boasted of being a former army officer. The incident created significant resentment among those on board. “One passenger told me that the man had landed himself in big trouble. Our flight reached T3 at 11.04 pm. As soon as we landed, passengers were asked to remain seated. Then I saw CISF personnel quietly come in and escort him out first,” Kumar recalled.
Air India confirmed the matter 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.”
The airline said the cabin crew followed standard operating procedures and issued a formal written warning to the individual. “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,” the statement added.
CISF sources confirmed they had escorted the passenger off the aircraft 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.”