Delhi Police on Monday said it has detained an ‘unruly’ passenger after he was deboarded by Air India from its Delhi-London flight.
Flight AI 111, which had around 225 passengers, returned to the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi as there was an unruly male passenger onboard.
“Delhi Police detained a 25-year-old man namely Jaskeerat Singh for unruly behaviour on the flight. He was travelling to London with his parents. The passenger belongs to Kapurthala, Punjab. Air India has officially complained to them and legal action will be initiated accordingly. He was deboarded from the plane,” the cops said.
The flight, which took off for Heathrow Airport (London) at around 6:30 am on Monday returned to Delhi airport at around 10 am after the crew reported to pilots about the physical altercation mid-flight. In a statement, Air India said, “Air India flight AI 111 scheduled to operate Delhi-London Heathrow on April 10, 2023, returned to Delhi shortly after departure due to the serious unruly behaviour of a passenger on board. Not heeding verbal and written warnings, the passenger continued with unruly behaviour including causing physical harm to two of the cabin crew members.”
“The pilot in command decided to return to Delhi and the passenger was handed over to the security personnel upon landing. An FIR has also been lodged with the police. Safety, security and dignity of all on board are important to us at Air India. We are providing all possible support to the affected crew members. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers and have rescheduled the flight to depart for London this afternoon,” Air India said. After the plane landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Air India filed a police complaint about the passenger’s “indecent behaviour” at the police station. Legal action is being taken against the said passenger.
The airline said it has also informed the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the incident. This is not the first time Air India witnessed such a ruckus on a flight. Earlier, in January, a man, identified as Shankar Mishra was arrested of allegedly urinating on a woman on board an AI flight on November 26 last year. The Delhi Police arrested him on January 6 this year.
In an inebriated condition, Mishra urinated on a 70-year-old woman on an Air India flight on November 26 last year. Delhi Police had registered an FIR against him on January 4 on a complaint given by the woman to Air India