Drunk flyer opens emergency flap on board Indigo flight, arrested

BENGALURU: A drunk 40-year-old flyer on board an Indigo flight from Delhi to Bengaluru on Friday has been booked by the airport police under three stringent sections for attempting to open the flap on one of the emergency doors. The act did not compromise the safety of the flight, the airline though clarified. The view was seconded by a top aviation expert.

The incident occurred on board Flight 6E 308, which departed from Indira Gandhi International Airport at 7.56 am.

The opening of emergency exits in flights became a topic debated nationally after Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya "accidentally" opened the door of an Indigo flight (6E 7339) to Tiruchirappalli at the Chennai airport before take-off on December 10, 2022. It delayed the departure of the flight by hours.

According to airport sources, R Prateek, who was in seat no. 18F was drunk and attempted to open the emergency flap, which is located above the handle.

"He behaved in an unruly and aggressive manner too," said a top source.

After the flight reached Bengaluru (10.43 am), he was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force personnel. "He was taken to Aster Hospital test inside the airport premises for a Breath Analyser Test. The result came positive," another source said.

Prateek, who has been detained at the airport police station, is a native of Kanpur and works as a marketing executive at a leading e-commerce firm.   

Confirming the incident, Indigo in a statement said, "A passenger travelling on Flight 6E 308 from Delhi to Bengaluru tried opening the flap of the emergency in an inebriated state. On noticing this violation, the crew alerted the captain and the passenger was appropriately cautioned. It did not compromise the safe operation of the said flight and the unruly passenger was handed over to CISF upon arrival in Bengaluru."

Aviation Safety Consultant Captain Mohan Ranganathan said that opening the flap of the emergency door will not pose any safety issues.

"When the flight is in air, it is in a pressurised state and all the exit doors are pressure-locked. There is no question of any of the doors opening mid-air at all," he explained. Unless the flight lands, the emergency doors cannot be opened.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East, Anoop Shetty told The New Indian Express, "The flyer has been booked under IPC section 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), Section 290 (Public Nuisance) and Section 11A (wilful non-compliance with directions) of the Aircraft Act 1934."

He is being detained in the airport police station. He will be issued a notice under 41A Crpc and procedures followed, he added.