Passenger removed from flight after entering cockpit to charge his phone

IndiGo airline says 'unruly passenger' was ejected from plane into police custody

The IndiGo plane was still preparing for takeoff at Mumbai airport when the incident took place

A passenger has been removed from a flight in India for trying to enter the cockpit to charge his phone, the latest in a string of bizarre incidents in the country.

Police told reporters the man was drunk and moved towards the cockpit while the IndiGo plane was still on the ground at Mumbai, saying he wanted to recharge his mobile.

A spokesperson for IndiGo said the incident involved an “unruly passenger” on a Kolkata-bound flight on Monday. The man was promptly told to leave the cockpit and ultimately ejected from the plane into police custody.

“Following standard operating procedures the captain operating Flight 6E-395… initiated the offloading of the passenger on grounds of security violation,” the spokesperson told the PTI news agency.

Police said the man, who was around 35 years old, was taken into custody but later released without charge. An officer said police “did not find any offence against him to charge a case”.

The incident took place two days after a similarly bizarre case, where a first-time flier tried to open the rear door on a flight from Delhi to Patna, mistaking it for the bathroom.

That flight, operated by another budget airline GoAir, was already mid-air when the man’s actions sparked “pandemonium” among his fellow passengers.

A spokesperson for GoAir said the man was eventually “intercepted by the crew” after other passengers raised the alarm. The man was taken into police custody upon arrival, but again released without charge after it was established he had made a genuine mistake.

Last week, a Jet Airways plane was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing at Mumbai after the oxygen masks dropped down and multiple passengers reported ear pain and bleeding from the nose.

It later emerged that the pilots had apparently forgotten to flick a switch that regulates cabin pressure, causing a rapid loss of pressure as the plane climbed to 11,000ft.

The incident prompted aviation minister Suresh Prabhu to launch what officials called a full “safety audit” of all airlines and airports. The pilots involved have been suspended pending a full inquiry.