Unruly passenger forces Calicut-bound IndiGo flight to land in Mumbai

Despite long-pending demands from passengers’ forums and the airlines’ industry demanding stringent action against unruly passengers, the civil aviation ministry is yet to introduce such measures.

An unruly passenger bound to Calicut from Dubai on Thursday forced an IndiGo flight to land in Mumbai.

The man physically assaulted his co-passenger, said the airline spokesperson. (HT File Photo)

An IndiGo spokesperson confirmed the incident.

“IndiGo confirms the diversion of flight 6E 89 (Dubai-Calicut) to Mumbai this morning on the grounds of unruly behavior on board,” said the spokesperson, who added that a passenger seated in 5D started misbehaving with the crew. “He jumped onto the forward cart — used for food and on-board merchandise — and sat on it. The crew immediately informed the captain-in-command and the lead crew. The crew politely requested the passenger to step down and he obliged. He then became violent and started physically abusing his co-passenger.”

Taking precautionary measures, the captain immediately informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the ground security staff about the situation on-board and the flight force-landed at the Mumbai airport, where the passenger was handed over to the Central Industrial Service Force.

Despite long-pending demands from passengers’ forums and the airlines’ industry demanding stringent action against unruly passengers, the civil aviation ministry is yet to introduce such measures. Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) permitted domestic airlines’ crew to carry plastic handcuffs on-board for such instances. From assaulting the crew and smoking in the lavatory, to breaking armrests, cases of passenger violence on-board are frequent.