Man Held For Attempting To Open Emergency Exit Door Of IndiGo Flight, Second Incident In 2 Weeks

An FIR was registered against the passenger in Bengaluru based on a complaint filed by the IndiGo airlines staff after which he was arrested.

A passenger on a Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight was arrested for allegedly trying to open the emergency exit door of the plane prior to its take-off from Nagpur, said the police on Monday. The passenger, identified as Swapnil Holey, had boarded the 6E 6803 IndiGo flight from Nagpur at around 10 pm on September 30, they said, according to a PTI report. He was seated next to the emergency door of the aircraft, said the police, adding he allegedly attempted to open the door while the crew members were briefing passengers. 

After the aircraft landed at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport at 11:55 pm, Holey was escorted by the airlines’ staff to the police station, a senior police official told the news agency. 

An FIR was registered against him under section 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of a complaint filed by the airline staff and the accused passenger was arrested in connection with the incident, he said.

However, he was later released on bail. 

Holey was scheduled to take a flight to Bangkok on October 1, the police said. 

This is the second incident to take place within two weeks. On September 20, a male passenger was arrested who had tried to open the cover of the emergency exit door of a Chennai-bound IndiGo flight prior to its take-off from New Delhi. 

A statement issued by the airline said that as per the standard operating procedure, the passenger was declared unruly by the crew and handed over to the local authorities on arrival at Chennai.

The incident took place onboard flight 6E 6341 from Delhi to Chennai.  The passenger tried to open the emergency exit door cover prior to take-off. At no point was the safety of the flight compromised, the statement said, as per a PTI report.