JEDDAH, 8 June 2005 — A Kerala-bound male passenger went berserk on board an Air-India flight just before it was ready for departure at King Abdul Aziz International Airport yesterday.
The flight (AI 800) was to leave for Bombay at 2:30 p.m. but was delayed due to the incident, according to witnesses.
The stocky passenger of average height, who appeared to be of unsound mind, suddenly went about hugging fellow passengers and opening cabin racks and unloading bags even as incoming fellow passengers were settling in their seats. It was then that the passengers protested and the cabin crew summoned security.
“A doctor arrived and gave the passenger some shots to calm him and the latter was offloaded,” a lady passenger said.
The spokesman for Air-India said there was “some commotion” and action was taken immediately. In this particular case, the passenger apparently behaved normally while he was checked in and waited in the terminal after immigration and security formalities.
“Our nightmare continued even after landing in Bombay, as the airplane doors would not open and we had to finally get out through emergency exit,” a lady passenger said on the phone from Bombay. Some 50 percent of the passengers on this flight were returning home after performing Umrah.
