FIR Against Unruly Passenger Who Forced Air India Delhi-London Flight To Return Midway, Caused Harm To Crew

An Air India London bound flight returned to Delhi on Monday due to unruly behaviour from a passenger on board . The flight returned to Delhi shortly after the take-off.

An Air India London bound flight returned to Delhi shortly after departure on Monday due to the serious unruly behaviour of a passenger on board. The flight returned shortly after the take-off. The passenger was not heeding to verbal and written warnings and continued behaving unruly. The flight AI 111 was scheduled to operate Delhi-London Heathrow on April 10, 2023, the airline said.

The pilot in command decided to return to Delhi and the passenger was handed over to the security personnel upon landing. An FIR has also been lodged with the police. Not heeding to verbal and written warnings, the passenger continued with unruly behaviour including causing physical harm to two of the cabin crew members.

Air India issued a statement over the incident and stated, "safety, security and dignity of all on board is important to us at Air India. We are providing all possible support to the affected crew members. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers and have rescheduled the flight to depart for London this afternoon."

After the plane landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Air India filed a police complaint about the passenger's "indecent behaviour" at the police station. Legal action is being taken against the said passenger. The airline said it has also informed the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the incident.

This is not the first time Air India witnessed such a ruckus on a flight. Earlier, in January, a man, identified as Shankar Mishra was arrested of allegedly urinating on a woman on board an AI flight on November 26 last year. The Delhi Police arrested him on January 6 this year. In an inebriated condition, Mishra urinated on a 70-year-old woman on an Air India flight on November 26 last year.

Delhi Police had registered an FIR against him on January 4 on a complaint given by the woman to Air India. The police registered an FIR under sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act. Both the accused and the victim are from outside Delhi, as reported by the news agency ANI.