AirAsia said the flier may have been drunk (Representational)
New Delhi:
A passenger took off his clothes twice and asked to kiss a crew member in a bizarre incident on an AirAsia flight from Delhi to Bengaluru earlier this week. According to an internal report being examined by the aviation ministry, the passenger stripped naked, broke a laptop and “requested an Italian smooch” from the crew.
On the flight on Monday, it started with the passenger approaching a cabin crew member with “request of Italian smooch, which was refused firmly”, said the report by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The passenger was advised to be seated and the crew checked if he was intoxicated or into some medication, according to the report, which added that the man apologized and said he was fine.
Later, a stewardess was shocked to find the man naked in his seat and asked him to get dressed, which he did. But when the plane landed, he stripped again.
“On ground after he deplaned, guest again got undressed. Again he removed his clothes and broke his own laptop on ground in the presence of AAI security staff. On repeated requests, guest got dressed,” the report said.
“Firstly, the unruly passenger started a heated argument with the cabin crew about life jackets. He later misbehaved with the crew onboard and suddenly took off all the clothes in the flight,” another passenger is quoted as telling news agency ANI.
The AirAsia crew filed a police complaint and Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is said to be considering a ban on the passenger.
The man, the report indicates, could face a 30-day ban during which he will be on the no-fly list – as is the rule for disruptive passengers.
AirAsia said the flier may have been drunk. “An inebriated guest onboard i5-722, from Bengaluru to New Delhi on April 6, 2021, behaved in an inappropriate manner including with a cabin crew on duty inflight,” an AirAsia India spokesperson said.