The accused obstructed the airline staff and other passengers at the Delhi airport. (Representational)
A 36-year-old passenger from Uttar Pradesh was arrested for creating ruckus at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after allegedly being denied boarding by the airline for not carrying a mandatory RT-PCR test report, the police said today.
Suraj Pandey, a businessman from Rudrapur in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Monday based on a complaint received from Deepak Dhandha, Deputy Manager of Vistara Airlines, they said.
In his complaint, Mr Dhandha alleged that the passenger came to IGI Airport's Vistara airline counter for heading to Mumbai by flight number UK933 but he did not have an RT-PCR report and was not allowed to board the aircraft following which he missed the flight, the police said.
The airline official alleged that around 3 PM, Suraj Pandey started shouting, got onto the baggage belt and started walking on it and obstructed the airline staff and other passengers, the police added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Rajeev Ranjan said: "We checked the CCTV footage to verify the complainant's version. From the contents of the complaint, CCTV footage and enquiry conducted so far, accused Suraj Pandey had committed offence under relevant sections of the Delhi Police Act. Subsequently, he was arrested and his medical examination was also conducted."
Since it was a bailable offence, the accused passenger was released on bail and will be produced before a court in Delhi, he said.
An official statement issued by the Vistara spokesperson said the customer booked the flight from Delhi to Mumbai on June 21 but was not accepted on the flight as he was not carrying a COVID-19 RT-PCR test report, which is mandatory as per government guidelines.
"In reaction, he behaved badly with our staff and other customers, and his acts threatened the safety of ground operations. We have provided a full refund of the booking to the customer and notified the authorities of the incident," the spokesperson added.
Vistara stands firm with its zero-tolerance policy against unruly behaviour or act that endangers the safety, security, and dignity of its customers and staff, the airline said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
