Passenger attacks cabin crew on Air India Goa-Delhi flight, detained by security

In yet another incident of a person indulging in disruptive behaviour inside an aeroplane, Air India on Tuesday said that a passenger on its AI-882 Goa-Delhi flight behaved in an unruly manner, verbally abusing the crew members and even physically assaulting one of them.

According to the airline, the passenger continued the provocative behaviour even after the flight landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The said passenger was then handed over to the security personnel and episode reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the aviation regulator.

"A passenger on our flight AI-882 on May 29 behaved in an unruly manner. The said passenger verbally abused the crew members and then went on to physically assault one of them on board. On landing at Delhi Airport, the passenger continued with the unprovoked, aggressive behaviour and was handed over to the security personnel. We have also reported the incident to the regulator," Air India's spokesperson said.

In April too, the airline had witnessed a similar incident when the Delhi-London (AI-111) had to return to Delhi airport after an unruly passenger tried to open the door of the aircraft an hour after the takeoff. He also allegedly physically assaulted two air hostesses. Later, he was handed over to the police.

The DGCA in April 2023 issued an advisory to airlines reiterating the existing provisions in place to deal with unruly passengers. The aviation regulator said there are provisions under the Civil Aviation Requirement for action to be taken by the airline to deal with unruly passengers.

DGCA said that in the recent past, it has noticed a few incidents such as smoking in aircraft, consumption of alcoholic beverages resulting in unruly behaviour, altercations between passengers and sometimes inappropriate touching or sexual harassment by the passengers onboard an aircraft during the flight, wherein “post holders, pilots and cabin crew members have failed to take appropriate actions”.

“Such incidents have the potential of compromising the safety of aircraft operations,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

The watchdog has advised the heads of operations of all airlines to sensitise their pilots, cabin crew and post holders on handling of unruly passengers through appropriate means.