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‘Feel sorry for this’: Thai airline's apology for ugly mid-air fight
The scuffle took place on board Thai Smile Airways' Bangkok-Kolkata flight on December 27. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security said that it is enquiring about the video clip of the incident.
After a viral video of a mid-air brawl on board a Thai Smile Airways flight went viral, the air carrier has reportedly issued an apology over the incident.
“THAI Smile Airways feels sorry for this. We reaffirm that the incident has been taken care of as we followed the flight safety procedures in accordance with international standards. Our flight crews have already provided support to the persons affected by an incident”, a Twitter handle bearing the name of the Thai carrier posted. It is not a verified handle so we cannot confirm authenticity.
Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security told PTI that it is enquiring about the video clip of the scuffle.
"BCAS has taken cognisance of the video. We have started inquiring and further action will be taken depending on the inquiry outcome," BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan told PTI.
NDTV journalist Vishnu Som in a tweet said the scuffle erupted after one of the passengers didn't make the seat upright before takeoff, leading to the Bangkok-Kolkata flight being delayed. Another passenger got up from his seat and started hitting his co-traveller, triggering absolute chaos inside the flight.
Som also hit out at the air carrier, questioning why was the aircraft allowed to take off amid the violent fight between the passengers.
“Instead, what does @THAISmileIndia do? They carry on with the flight while ensuring that none of the offending passengers are served alcohol. Is this a joke? You just had a serious incident where passengers go and bash each other up and you just continue to fly?" he tweeted.
The mid-air scuffle video comes days after a video of a heated argument between a passenger and an IndiGo staff had gone viral. The incident on IndiGo's Istanbul-Delhi flight reportedly took place over food choices.
As per media reports, the crew lead intervene after the passenger had shown ‘bad behaviour’ and insulted one of the attendants who broke down. IndiGo said the argument was related to the meals chosen by passengers travelling through a codeshare connection.
