IndiGo Passenger Tried To Remove Emergency Exit Cover Mid-Air, Case Filed

A passenger travelling on a Nagpur to Mumbai flight today allegedly tried to remove the cover of the emergency exit while the aircraft was in the air and on approach for landing, news agency ANI said quoting IndiGo Airlines. The crew on board alerted the captain and the passenger was "appropriately cautioned", it added.

IndiGo claimed there was no compromise on the safe operation of the flight, and a First Information Report, or FIR, has been filed against the passenger for unauthorised tampering of the emergency exit.

This comes days after the national aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that a passenger on an IndiGo, Chennai-Tiruchirappalli flight opened the emergency door on December 10 last year. However, there was no untoward incident as the flight hadn't yet taken off.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia later confirmed the passenger was Tejasvi Surya and said he opened the door "by mistake" and apologised for it. Officials said Mr Surya "rested his hands on the door", unlocking the exit, and the flight was delayed by over two hours for its destination.

Airlines have been under extra scrutiny since last year, initially because of several mechanical failures mid-air, and more recently due to the crew's handling of unruly passengers.

Two Air India flights are under scrutiny over incidents involving drunk passengers.

The crew of a New York-Delhi flight were de-rostered after a drunk passenger urinated on an elderly woman. In another Air India Paris-Delhi flight, a drunk passenger had urinated on the vacant seat and blanket of a woman passenger. Another passenger, also inebriated, was caught smoking in the lavatory and refusing to respond to the instructions of the cabin crew.