Passenger opens emergency exit of Chennai flight; DGCA orders probe

An air-passenger had opened the emergency door resulting in panic among others on the flight in December, officials said on Tuesday. The incident which led to scare among air-passengers had taken place in an Indigo flight. Aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe into the matter and has sought a report from the airline. “We are looking into the matter,” said a senior DGCA official. Officials said that the situation was pacified after the authorities conducted a pressurization check. The incident happened on December 10 on the IndiGo 6E flight 6E-7339, traveling from Chennai to Trivandrum. The flight took off after pressurisation checks soon after, said an official. Many incidents of unruly behaviours of air passengers have been reported in the recent past. Apart from “peeing” incidents in flights, a high pitched argument between an air- passenger and one of the crew members of an IndiGo flight had gone viral on social media during the last year. Taking note of instances of unruly behaviour of air passengers where pilots and cabin crew members have failed to take appropriate actions, DGCA recently asked Head of operations of the airlines to sensitise pilots, cabin crew and Director-in-flight Services of their respective airlines on the topic of handling of unruly passengers through appropriate means.