High drama unfolded at the airport here today when the pilot of an Abu Dhabi-Kochi Air India flight pressed the hijack button in panic after passengers created a ruckus in the cockpit following diversion of the plane to Thiruvananthapuram. According to airport officials, protesting passengers allegedly entered the cockpit of the aircraft after having waited in the plane for over four hours to go to Kochi. The pilot then pressed the hijack button, they said.
Following the message, police and other security personnel surrounded the aircraft which was parked at the airport. The plane was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to bad weather, the officials said. Passengers refused to deboard the aircraft despite repeated requests by the airlines. Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered a probe into the incident, official sources said in New Delhi.
High drama unfolded at the airport here today when the pilot of an Abu Dhabi-Kochi Air India flight pressed the hijack button in panic after passengers created a ruckus in the cockpit following diversion of the plane to Thiruvananthapuram. According to airport officials, protesting passengers allegedly entered the cockpit of the aircraft after having waited in the plane for over four hours to go to Kochi. The pilot then pressed the hijack button, they said.
Following the message, police and other security personnel surrounded the aircraft which was parked at the airport. The plane was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to bad weather, the officials said. Passengers refused to deboard the aircraft despite repeated requests by the airlines. Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered a probe into the incident, official sources said in New Delhi.
Premjit, one of the passengers, said the flight was supposed to land at Kochi at 3:30 AM but due to fog at the airport, the plane, which had already been delayed from Abu Dhabi, landed at Thiruvananthapuram at 6:30 AM. Nothing was done to take the passengers to Kochi and they were told that the plane had to wait at the Thiruvananthapuram airport for refuelling, he said. “The passengers kept waiting,” he said. Sources said police was unlikely to register case against passengers and felt a humane approach should be taken.
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