Alliance Air pilot held, off roster for taking pics, videos of IAF station

The airline has put out a statement following the incident.

A pilot of Alliance Air was detained briefly after he was found taking photographs and pictures of an Indian Air Force station, officials said on Friday. The airline has also taken him off the roster, it stated, after the incident.

Alliance Air apologised to guests for inconvenience. (Twitter/ Port Blair)

A tweet put out by the official handle of the Port Blair Airport read: "Alliance Air pilot was detained for a few hours by the Indian Air Force after they found him taking photographs and videos of one of their stations. Port Blair Airport advising all its users to be more cautious while taking photograph, as Portblair Airport is Navy Airfield. (sic)".

The pilot was reportedly held in Rajashtan, as per news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Alliance Air underlined that "safety is of paramount importance and such occurrences are viewed very seriously". The pilot, till the probe is on, has been de-rostered, it further pointed out. "We assure that all corrective actions are in place."

"We assure that Alliance Air, as an airline, adheres to all laid policies and procedures. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our esteemed guests on board," it further said.

The incident comes at a time when multiple incidents have been reported linked to airlines. Earlier this week, Go First took off its staff off roster after 55 passengers were left behind on the Bengaluru Airport.

Air India, which has been under fire over two urination incidents, de-rostered its staff, pending inquiry, that was on the November 26 New York-Delhi flight where a man - allegedly drunk - urinated on an elderly female passenger.

Aviation regulator DGCA has taken note of the incidents; it last week wrote to the airlines on tackling unruly flyers.

(With inputs from ANI)