Passengers knock cockpit, taunt Air India pilots for delay

New Delhi: Passengers on an Air India plane allegedly manhandled the cabin crew and threatened to break open the cockpit door after the Delhi-Mumbai flight was delayed due to a technical problem, an airline official said.

"The flight got delayed due to a technical snag on Thursday. It had to return to the bay. Passengers started knocking on the cockpit door, asking and taunting the pilots to come out," the airline official said.

"One passenger even said that he will break open the cockpit door if the pilots didn't come out," the official said, adding the situation inside the plane "went from bad to worse".

According to the official, a woman allegedly grabbed a crew member's arm in order to open the main exit gate quickly.

An Air India spokesperson said the crew has been asked to submit a report on the misbehaviour by the passengers.

"The flight was considerably delayed due to technical reasons. The Air India management has asked the operating crew for a detailed report on the misbehaviour by some passengers.

Further action would be considered after getting the report," the spokesperson said.

An official of the aviation regulator DGCA said that they have asked Air India to take action against the passengers for "unruly behaviour".