New Delhi: After a mid-air altercation on a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata went viral, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said a police complaint has been filed against the passengers who were involved in the scuffle.
Taking to Twitter, Scindia said, “With regard to the scuffle between passengers on board a @ThaiSmileAirway flight, a police complaint has been filed against those involved. Such behavior is unacceptable.”
With regard to the scuffle between passengers on board a @ThaiSmileAirway flight, a police complaint has been filed against those involved. Such behaviour is unacceptable.
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) December 29, 2022
The airline, in its report, said the row erupted when the passenger on seat 37C refused to follow the safety instructions of the crew.
Despite repeated requests, the passenger remained seated with his seat reclined, it said adding that the Captain delayed the fight due to the same.
“He was also told that the crew would be forced to inform the captain if he did not follow the rules. He told the crew that they are free to tell the captain but he would not adjust his seat. Soon, other fliers started complaining about the passenger. One of them got into an argument with him that soon escalated into an assault,” the report said.
The airline has further said that no passenger received any serious injury in the incident.
“There was no other disturbance for the remainder of the journey,” it added.
The purported video from the Bangkok-Kolkata Thai Smile Airways December 26 flight shows two passengers engaging in a heated argument even as a flight attendant attempts to calm them.
One man is then seen slapping the other as the cabin crew member desperately attempts to separate them.