Passenger removed from IndiGo flight after emergency exit alarm in Hyderabad

• A passenger was removed from an IndiGo flight at Hyderabad airport after an emergency exit sensor alarm was triggered

• Police said he touched the handle after being moved to an emergency exit row during boarding

• The passenger said the contact was accidental; an investigation is underway

A passenger was removed from an IndiGo flight bound for Kadapa after he touched an emergency exit handle and triggered a security alarm during boarding at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport early on Friday.

Airline staff alerted the authorities, and the passenger was handed over to airport police. A case has been registered at the RGIA Police Station.

According to police, the passenger had been moved from the ninth row to the second row, which they identified as an emergency exit seating area. He touched the exit handle while settling into his seat, setting off the sensor alarm.

Although the incident was initially described as an alleged attempt to open the emergency door, the passenger told police that he had touched the handle unintentionally. Investigators are examining the circumstances.

The incident occurred at the airport in Shamshabad while passengers were boarding the flight to Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.

In a separate incident on August 6, a passenger on a Kuala Lumpur–Kochi Batik Air flight allegedly damaged an emergency exit window panel and tampered with the exit door as the aircraft prepared to land.

Police arrested the passenger, identified as Jamsheer Athanikkal, following the incident aboard flight OD231. He was booked under provisions relating to criminal intimidation, failure to comply with aviation directions and acts endangering public safety.

Friday’s incident also followed reports of an altercation aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv that was diverted to Tabuk in northern Saudi Arabia.

According to those reports, the co-pilot attacked the captain, identified as Smit Machchhar, prompting initial concerns about a suspected hijacking attempt. Passengers reportedly intervened after the captain raised an alarm, while two flydubai pilots travelling as passengers helped land the aircraft.

Reports said the aircraft descended about 17,400 feet in less than two minutes. The captain was reportedly injured. The circumstances and motive behind that incident remain unclear.

With IANS inputs