Russian tourist tries to open plane door mid-air on Moscow to Delhi flight

The passenger was handed over to the CISF by the pilot. The ‘disturbance report’ mentioned that the passenger was drunk and had tried to open the door of the Moscow-Delhi Aeroflot plane mid-air.

A Russian tourist, who wanted to open the door of a Delhi-bound plane mid-air, was whisked away by the police as the flight landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). The tourist was later fined by court for attempting to open the door of the plane from Moscow as it approached the Capital, scaring the passengers and sending the air crew into a tizzy.

The police took the passenger to Safdarjung hospital for medical examination where his BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) level was found to be at 56.7/100ml of blood.(HT FLIE)

The crew of the Aeroflot airline reportedly controlled the passenger and the pilot informed the Delhi Air Traffic Controller (ATC), requesting for police’s assistance at the airport. As the gate opened, the passenger was greeted by the personnel of Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) and their Quick Reaction Team (QRT) whisked the passenger away.

“On May 22, duty manager of Aeroflot had made a PCR call regarding an unruly passenger on board Flight SU 232, Moscow-New Delhi. The Moscow control room of the airline was also alerted. After the flight landed at T3, the pilot handed over the passenger with Flight Disturbance Report (FDR). The report mentioned that the passenger tried to open the gate of the aircraft mid-air in an inebriated state and also consumed alcohol on board,” a Delhi Police official said.

The police took him to Safdarjung hospital for medical examination where the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) level was found to be at 56.7/100ml of blood. In terms of driving, in the US or the UK, the BAC level has to be less than 80mg. In India, the permissible BAC is 30mg.

“Based on the complaint, facts and circumstances, action has been taken against the passenger as per the aircraft act,” DCP (airport) Sanjay Bhatia said.

Sources said that the passenger was produced before the court and let off after a fine of Rs 50,000.

There have been several cases of unruly passengers in the recent past. In April, a passenger had to be tied down to his seat while travelling to Delhi from Dubai as he turned violent soon after the plane took off from Dubai.

A day before this, an Air India air hostess had filed a complaint of misbehaviour by a passenger on a flight coming from Muscat. According to airlines, such incidents are on the rise and often pose security risk to other passengers. Though, the crew members are trained to handle such situation, many a times, the situation goes out of hand.

“The passengers are often rude and sometimes turn violent over minor issues. We have asked staff to keep calm but there are clear guidelines to tie down a passenger if situation goes out of hand,” an airline official said.

A few days later, two ‘drunk’ passengers were offloaded by the British Airways at Delhi airport after they insisted on playing a musical instrument on board.