'Unruly' passenger prompts diversion of Bangkok-bound Lufthansa flight to Delhi

New Delhi: A Bangkok-bound Lufthansa flight from Munich landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi on Wednesday after an "unruly" passenger allegedly created a mid-air ruckus.

The passenger, who had a heated argument with his wife, was deboarded and handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials at Delhi airport, as per sources.

“The flight was enroute Bangkok. The pilot contacted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) seeking permission to land the aircraft here due to an unruly passenger on board,” the sources said.

“The wife, who is a Thai national, had approached the crew members and the pilot stating that she was being threatened by her husband, a German national,” as per the sources.

It may be recalled that on October 1, Delhi Police had filed a case against a 25-year-old man for purportedly causing disturbance and verbally abusing the flight crew during an Air India flight from New York to Delhi.

According to the officials, the case pertained to a passenger who caused disruption on the flight and used offensive language with the female cabin crew.

The case was registered under Sections 509 of the Indian Penal Code and 22/23 of Aircraft Rules at the IGI Airport police station, following a complaint lodged by one of the female cabin crew members.

As per the FIR, the passenger, a resident of Jalandhar, who was initially assigned seat number 21B, was later found in seat number 45H, making lewd comments and verbally abusing his fellow passengers.

"The passenger then began running around and verbally abusing everyone. The cabin supervisor first issued an oral warning, followed by a written warning," read the FIR.

The crew finally had to physically restrain him as he persisted with the same disruptive behaviour.

"He also made a racist comment directed at me and the other female crew members in the galley, saying 'you girls are available for two dollars', and continued to verbally abuse other crew members," stated the FIR.