Passenger opens emergency exit on Jodhpur -Bengaluru IndiGo flight before takeoff, arrested: Report

Siraj Kidwai was taken into custody, and the airline confirmed adherence to safety procedures. The flight was delayed by about 20 minutes.

A Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur faced an unexpected delay on Tuesday morning after a passenger opened the emergency exit flap just before takeoff.

The IndiGo passenger was detained and questioned by CISF personnel at the airport police station. (Bloomberg)

According to reports, Flight 6E 6033 was preparing for departure, with all passengers onboard and the cabin crew conducting a safety demonstration. The aircraft was scheduled to take off at 10:10 AM when the incident occurred. The sudden act created panic among passengers, prompting the flight crew to immediately activate standard safety protocols.

The individual responsible, identified as Siraj Kidwai, an Axis Bank employee, claimed he had opened the flap by accident. As soon as the emergency exit was unlatched, an alert was sent to the cockpit, and security officials intervened. The passenger was subsequently removed from the aircraft and taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The airline expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to fellow passengers and reaffirmed its commitment to upholding strict safety and security protocols.

In an official statement, IndiGo confirmed the incident, stating, "During the pre-departure safety briefing for flight 6E 6033 from Jodhpur to Bengaluru, a passenger opened the emergency exit flap. Our crew immediately followed standard procedures, and the individual was disembarked and handed over to law enforcement authorities for further investigation."

Following the incident, the passenger was detained and questioned by CISF personnel at the airport police station. The disruption led to a brief delay of approximately 20 minutes before the flight was cleared for departure. In a similar incident earlier, An Air India Express flight bound for Visakhapatnam was forced to turn back to Bengaluru shortly after takeoff on Saturday due to a technical issue, airport officials said.

The flight, which departed, remained airborne over Bengaluru for some time before returning to its origin as a precautionary measure. Authorities clarified that while the aircraft returned due to technical concerns, the situation did not warrant an emergency landing.

"The flight was brought back due to technical reasons, but it was not classified as an emergency landing," an airport official stated.

As of now, Air India Express has not released an official statement regarding the incident.