High drama unfolded at the Thiruvananthapuram airport after a woman pilot, Rupali, flying the Abu Dhabi-Kochi Air India flight, sent an emergency call regarding an attempt to hijack the flight, a couple of hours after it made an emergency landing here.
The Air India flight was stranded for more than eight hours, forcing the passengers to protest against the inordinate delay.
The Kochi-bound flight, which was supposed to land there at 5.45 a.m., was diverted to the Thiruvananthapuram airport due to bad weather conditions. The flight landed here around 6.40 a.m., after which the passengers were informed that they would take off for Kochi in half-and-hour after refilling of fuel.
But when the delay continued, irate passengers began to sound their protest.
The airline officials then informed the passengers that they would be taken to Kochi via road, angering them further. A tourist bus was also moved in to shift the passengers.
Meanwhile, the passengers tried to stop the pilot and the crew who were getting ready to deboard, saying their duty time was over.
With the passengers getting furious, the pilot sent a code to the Directorate of Civil Aviation that there was an attempt to hijack the flight.
In a swift move, the flight was surrounded by security staff. Police officials, led by DGP K S Balasubramanian, also rushed to the airport, as did the anti-hijack team. Meanwhile, passengers complained that they were not given any food and water, even when the flight was delayed indefinitely. Around 10 a.m., bread and water was served to the passengers, which included women and little children.
After the DGP assessed the situation and found no threat to the aircraft, the crew was replaced and the flight was allowed to leave at 2 p.m., On the ground, the pilot Rupali, registered a complaint with the police saying passengers had tried to enter the cockpit.
Chief minister Oommen Chandy said the DGP would conduct a probe into the complaints of both the pilot and the passengers. He added that, prima facie, the protest by the passengers seemed natural and the theory of hijack seems baseless.
Air India official spokesperson Abey George said the flight was supposed to leave Thiruvananthapuram by 9.30 a.m., but due to the hype created by the ‘hijack’ episode, certain formalities had to be completed before letting the flight leave