Bengaluru: The incident of passengers causing havoc mid-air seems to be rising day by day. Lately, several Indian airlines have been facing challenges due to the rise in unruly passengers behaviour. As the mid-air ruckus continues, another similar incident has come to the fore where a drunk flyer onboard an IndiGo flight tried to open the flap of an emergency door.
As per the official statement from the airlines, a 40-year-old flyer onboard an IndiGo flight tried to open the emergency door flap of the aircraft in an inebriated state on a Delhi-Bengaluru flight at around 7:56 am on Friday.
The matter was reported to the concerned agencies and after the aircraft landed in Bengaluru the passenger was handed over to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials.
"A passenger travelling on flight 6E 308 from Delhi to Bengaluru tried opening the flap of the emergency exit in an inebriated state,” the airlines said in a statement.
Assuring that there was no compromise on safety, IndiGo further said that the cabin crew immediately alerted the captain and warned the passenger.
“On noticing this violation, the crew on board alerted the captain and the passenger was appropriately cautioned. There was no compromise on the safe operation of the said flight and the unruly passenger was handed over to CISF upon arrival in Bengaluru,” it said. A investigation has been initiated in the matter.
Also Read: Swedish national arrested for allegedly molesting IndiGo cabin crew onboard
Tejasvi Surya "accidentally" opened emergency door
Notably, the opening of emergency exits in flights have recently become a topic of discussion after Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya "accidentally" opened the door of an Indigo flight from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli before take-off in December last year. The BJP MP apologised for his action. However, several Opposition leaders raised questions over the violation made by the leader.
"The passenger immediately apologised for the action. As per SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flight's departure," said the airline in a statement.
Mid-air incidents
Earlier on April 1, a Swedish national was arrested by Mumbai police for allegedly molesting a cabin crew member onboard an IndiGo Bangkok-Mumbai flight.
Incidents of unruly behaviour mid-air have been increased in the past few months. Last year in 2022, six people were arrested for causing havoc on flights and so far in 2023, eight such arrests have been made.
On March 11, a man was arrested for smoking in the lavatory and trying to open the emergency exit of a London-Mumbai flight. Later on March 23, Mumbai's Sahar Police booked two IndiGo flyers travelling from Dubai to Mumbai for allegedly being drunk and misbehaving with the crew.
Last year, a drunk passenger allegedly urinated on a woman passenger in the business class of an Air India New York-New Delhi flight. Within 10 days of this shocking incident, an inebriated passenger travelling on Air India flight to New Delhi from Paris urinated on the blanket of a passenger.
Also Read: Drunk passenger vomits, defecates near toilet of Guwahati-Delhi IndiGo flight
DGCA guidelines
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its guidelines asked to use 'handcuff-like device' to restrain unruly passengers. The airlines have been also asked to follow a mandatory process holding travellers accountable before they are banned from flying.
"Head of operations are hereby advised to sensitise pilots, cabin crew and director-in-flight services of their respective airlines on the topic of handling of unruly passenger through appropriate means under intimation to DGCA," the advisory stated. Any non-compliance towards applicable regulations will be dealt with strictly and invite enforcement action, the regulator added.
Under the norms, if an airline finds a passenger's behaviour unruly, the pilot-in-command has to file a complaint, which is to be investigated by an internal panel. "Non-action/ inappropriate action/ omission by the airlines towards such untoward incidents has tarnished the image of air travel in different segments of society," the DGCA said in the advisory.
Under the Aircraft Act, 1937, the pilot-in-command is responsible for the safety of the passengers and cargo carried and for the maintenance of flight discipline and safety of the members of the crew, in addition to being responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft during flight.
Under the regulations, the pilot-in-command is "responsible for assessing the situation quickly if the cabin crew can control the situation and accordingly relay this information to the airline's central control on the ground for further action."
"In addition ... upon landing of the aircraft, airline representative will lodge FIR with the concerned security agency at aerodrome, to whom, the unruly passenger shall be handed over," as per the advisory.
According to the DGCA, rules describe the responsibility of cabin crew for handling an unruly passenger and to defuse a critical situation until it becomes clear that there is no way to resolve it through verbal communication and written notice to passenger. Applying restraining devices should be used when all conciliatory approaches have been exhausted, it stated.
(With ANI inputs)
