Hijack scare as AI pilot presses the panic button

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 19
The woman pilot of an Abu Dhabi-Kochi Air India flight set off the hijack alarm in panic after agitated passengers allegedly stormed the cockpit here today. Six passengers were detained for questioning.

Passengers of Air India Express flight 4422 entered into a heated argument with the pilot after it was diverted to the capital due to poor visibility at Kochi, causing a delay by nearly nine hours, airport sources said.

Some passengers forced their way into the cockpit at which the pilot pressed the alarm button, setting off a flurry of activity with airport security personnel surrounding the plane with 200 passengers on board, airport officials said.

Six passengers were detained and questioned by CISF personnel when the plane landed at Kochi. They were later let off. The passengers were questioned after Commander Rupali Waghmare complained that some passengers had barged into the cockpit and threatened her with dire consequences if she did not take the flight to Kochi.

The flight landed in Kochi with a new crew. The co-pilot, who travelled to Kochi as a passenger, identified the six and they were questioned. The police said no FIR was registered.

Passengers claimed that they were treated badly and asked to leave by road to Kochi. This infuriated them and they refused to disembark at Thiruvananthapuram.

“When we protested, attempts were made to foist false cases on us,” one of the passengers said.

Tanya, another passenger, said it was a “terrible situation as there were a lot of women and children on board. We were not given food.”