AI hands over three inebriated passengers to Dubai security

Mangalore, August 18: Three allegedly inebriated passengers onboard Air India Express 813 were handed over to Dubai security officials by its crew after they misbehaved with them and the passengers on Friday.

The trio, all hailing from Mangalore, had boarded the flight at Bajpe airport. The flight departed for Dubai at 10.45pm on Thursday.

The passengers, identified as Praveen Castelino, Ganadhar Bhavani and A K Amith Kumar, started misbehaving with the women cabin crew and later started hurling abuses, when passengers intervened.

Sources said the drama unfolded an hour before the flight was to land in Dubai. "They started demanding more liquor and used abusive language against the cabin crew. At one point of time, the passengers told the trio to shut up as there were infants and children on the aircraft and also they wanted to get some sleep. But they continued their bawdy behaviour," the source said.

The passengers also did not cooperate with the cabin crew during the landing and tried to move around unbuckling their seatbelts.

The source said one of them was using an electronic equipment and a camcorder to video shoot the episode, despite the crew asking them not to do so.

The source added, "Their papers were in order, hence will not be deported. They may be let off with punitive action according to Dubai law."

This is not the first time there have been such incidents on the AIE. A couple of years ago, Ashraf from Puttur threatened to open the entrance door of the flight. Ashraf had also slapped the only male among the crew members onboard.

About two years ago, the Dubai- bound AIE flight at 9.30pm was forced to land at the Mumbai airport due to the alleged unruly behaviour of two passengers, who posed a security threat.

The passengers - Prasad Shetty and Shanawaz Khan - started demanding alcohol within a few minutes of the flight taking off from Mangalore and even when the belt-fastening signal was on. When their behaviour turned for the worse the captain decided to land the flight in Mumbai.