New Delhi: Air India’s London bound flight from Delhi turned around a mere 15 minutes after taking off after a passenger hit a woman member of the crew, and pulled another’s hair. The passenger, identified as Jaskirat Singh, 25, from Punjab’s Kapurthala, was handed over to the security personnel upon landing, and later arrested.
In a statement, Air India said the passenger did not heed verbal and written warnings and continued to be unruly. “The pilot in command decided to return to Delhi and the passenger was handed over to the security personnel upon landing,” the airline’s statement said.
The flight was rescheduled and departed for London at around 2.10pm with 225 passengers on board.
“We have received a complaint in this regard and have arrested Jaskirat Singh, who was travelling with his parents to London. He is being interrogated and legal action will be taken accordingly,” deputy commissioner of police (airport) Devesh Kumar Mahela said, adding that the passenger was later booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others), 354 (assaulting or using criminal force on a woman to outrage her modesty) and 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 22, 23 and 29 of Aircraft Rules 1937.
Medical examination of complainant and other crew members was also carried out, and results are awaited, he said.
According to policeofficials, Singh is a student and was travelling with his parents, who were also deboarded with him. “The family has claimed that their son is mentally unstable,” said one official who asked not to be named.
This is the latest in a series of incidents involving unruly passengers. Shankar Mishra, who was apparently inebriated, allegedly urinated on a female co-passenger on the Tata group-owned Air India’s November 26 New York-New Delhi flight. After India’s aviation regulator DGCA criticised the airline’s handling of that issue and suspended the pilot, airlines have become punctilious about reporting such incidents, usually caused on international flights by inebriated passengers.
In its statement, Air India called the safety, security, and dignity of all on board important and added the airline was providing all possible support to the affected crew members. “We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers.”
According to Flightradar24, an internet based service that tracks aircraft movement on a real time basis, the flight had taken off at 6.35am and had to land back at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 6.52pm .
If Singh is found guilty, he could find himself on a no-fly list, either of the airline or across airlines. In Mishra’s case, Air India barred him from flights for four months.
