‘Leaving me bloody’: Man alleges assault by Air India Express pilot at Delhi airport, airline reacts

A passenger alleged assault by an Air India Express pilot at the Delhi airport. The airline later said that the pilot has been removed from his official duties.

A SpiceJet passenger at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 on Friday alleged that an off-duty pilot of the Air India Express airlines physically assaulted him after an altercation over the latter cutting the security queue escalated. Reacting to the alleged incident, the airline later said the pilot has been removed from his official duties.

The man, under the name Ankit Dewan on X, said the scuffle broke out after he objected to the staff cutting the security check line at Delhi airport. (Photo for representation) (Reuters)

The passenger, Ankit Dewan, detailed his account in a post on X as he accused Air India Express's captain Virender Sejwal of ‘physically assaulting’ him.

“Me and my family were guided to use the security check that the staff uses (also the PRM check), because we had a 4 month old baby in a stroller,” Dewan wrote on X. He added that staff, including Sejwal, was cutting queue ahead of him and when Dewan called them out, Sejwal confronted him.

“On calling them out, Capt. Virender, who himself was doing the same thing, asked me if I was anpadh (uneducated), and couldn't read the signs that said this entry was for staff,” Dewan wrote, adding that a verbal duel broke out. He said the pilot went ahead to physically assault him. “Not able to excercise restraint, the AIX pilot proceeded to physically assault me, leaving me bloody,” the passenger wrote.

“My holiday is ruined. The first thing I have done here is see a doctor. My 7 year old daughter, who saw her father get assaulted brutally, is still traumatized & scared,” he added, and asked if it was okay to such pilots allow to fly who cannot keep their cool.

He also accused the Delhi airport of mismanagement for combining staff entry with passengers carrying infants, creating chaos at a sensitive security area.

“I was forced to write a letter stating that I will not pursue this matter further ... It was either write that letter, or miss my flight and throw the 1.2 lakhs holiday bookings down the drain,” he wrote, as he asked the Delhi Police why he couldn't file a complaint after returning from the holiday. “Must I sacrifice my money too, to seek justice? Will the CCTV footage disappear in the 2 days till I make it back to Delhi?” he wrote.

Air India Express later responded to Dewan's X post, and said that the pilot was immediately removed from his official duties and appropriate action was being taken against him.

“We profoundly regret this incident at Delhi Airport, involving one of our employees who was traveling as a passenger on another airline. We extend our heartfelt empathy for the distress it has caused, and strongly condemn such behaviour,” it said in a statement.

News agency PTI quoted sources saying that Sejwal later took an IndiGo flight to Bengaluru after the incident took place at Delhi airport's Terminal 1.