NEW DELHI: Air India (AI) has banned for two years a flyer who allegedly tried to open a door midair and assaulted two air hostesses who stopped him from doing so on a Delhi-London flight last month.
AI has requested DGCA to put Jaskirat Singh Padda (25) on its no-fly list, too, over the April 10 “life-threatening behaviour” that forced the plane to return to Delhi and the crew to use restraining devices to keep him seated till then.
The Dreamliner had taken off at 6.35am that day with almost 240 people on board and returned over three hours later at 9.42am.
Jaskirat was handed over to Delhi police later and an FIR filed against him by AI. According to police, Jaskirat was not found inebriated, but his family claims he is mentally unstable.
“Jaskirat’s unruly and disruptive behaviour had also endangered the safety of aircraft and persons on board AI 111… The internal committee is unanimously of the view that (he) does not deserve any lenient view. Hence, (he) is banned from flying/taking flights to/from/ within India for a period of two years,” an AI official said.
According to police, Kapurthala-based Jaskirat has studied till Class 12 and his father is a farmer. He was travelling with his parents to Canada to meet his sister. He was seated in economy class Seat 20E.
According to AI’s complaint, Jaskirat allegedly tried to open the aircraft door (L2) an hour after take-off. The air hostesses tried to stop him from fiddling with the door.
“…He threatened to hit (the air hostesses) and used unparliamentary language. After that, he became violent and hit her (one of the hostesses) on her neck very hard and she fell on the floor… he pulled her hair and then hit the other crew member on her face,” the airline’s complaint says.