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A passenger travelling on an Indigo flight was "offloaded" from the aircraft after he complained about the presence of mosquitoes. While the passenger, identified as Saurabh Rai, alleged that he was "manhandled" and "threatened" by the crew, the airline asserted that he was offloaded "on grounds of unruly behaviour" and used words such as “hijack”.
Hours after the row came to light, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered an inquiry.
Rai, who reportedly works as a heart surgeon in Bengaluru, was taking the Indigo flight 6E 541 from Lucknow to Bengaluru. A statement issued by the airlines regarding the incident said:
Meanwhile, complaining that the flight in question was full of mosquitoes, Rai alleged that he was held by the collar and dragged through the aisle.
Indigo later issued another statement on 10 April, in which it narrated its version of the events that led to the deplaning of Rai from the aircraft. The airline expressed regret about the inconvenience caused to passengers on-board the aircraft and to Saurabh Rai.
Asserting that "at no point of time was there any physical altercation with the passenger," Indigo said that it carried out its duty as a corporate citizen in a "timely and responsible manner" and "took necessary actions to ensure safety and security of our passengers as well as colleagues."
Narrating its version of the sequence of events, the airline said:
The incident led to a few other people on social media to complain about the presence of mosquitoes in Indigo’s aircraft. The airline apologised to some, and apprised them of the procedures they follow.
Not just this, a different video, shot by a passenger on a Jet Airways flight at Lucknow airport showing passengers swatting mosquitoes, also surfaced on social media.
Jet Airways immediately issued a statement in response, saying:
(With inputs from ANI)
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