On camera: Ruckus onboard Thailand-bound IndiGo flight, passenger kicks exit door
The IndiGo flight reached Thailand's Krabi at around 1 pm. It was supposed to land there at 10 am.
Mumbai: Furious over the delay, some passengers created a ruckus onboard a Thailand-bound IndiGo flight on Thursday after the pilot allegedly refused to fly the plane as his duty hours ended. A video of the chaotic scene that unfolded inside the Mumbai-Thailand flight has gone viral on social media.
The IndiGo flight, 6E 1085, bound to Krabi, was scheduled to depart from Mumbai at 4.05 am. The flight was delayed by more than three hours, according to the data available on the flight-tracking website Flightradar24. The flight reached Krabi at around 1 pm. It was supposed to land there at 10 am.
In the widely-circulated video, a few passengers can be seen engaging in a heated argument with the cabin crew onboard the plane. The passengers alleged that the pilot was not ready to fly the plane after his duty hours. "What about our plans that we have had?" a visibly angry passenger was heard asking the cabin crew.
2 passengers deboarded
Another passenger was seen kicking the exit door of the plane as IndiGo staffers tried to stop him. Following the chaos, two of the passengers were deboarded from the plane for misbehaving and handed over to the security agencies.
IndiGo issues statement
An IndiGo spokesperson, in a statement, said the flight was initially delayed from Mumbai due to a "combination of reasons, including late arrival of incoming aircraft, air traffic congestion, and crew exceeding their duty time limitations".
"Two of the customers onboard behaved inappropriately during the wait time and were declared unruly," the airline said in a statement.
"As per protocol, they were deboarded and handed over to the security agencies, resulting in further delays," it said.
IndiGo said meals and refreshments were served multiple times to "ease the wait time".
"We remain committed to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all and regret the inconvenience caused to our customers," it added.
IndiGo, the largest airline in India, faced mass cancellations and delays last month due to new pilot duty norms among other issues.