CHENNAI: In a shocking incident, a passenger on board an Air Arabia flight landing at the Chennai airport from Sharjah opened the emergency exit and jumped out of the aircraft leaving co-passengers in shock and prompting a security alert at the airport on Sunday, officials said.
The incident left the aircraft halted on the taxiway even as a British Airways flight arriving from London was diverted to Bengaluru.
According to officials, an Air Arabia passenger flight carrying 217 passengers arrived at the Chennai International Airport from Sharjah at approximately 3:30 AM today. While the aircraft was proceeding along the taxiway, a passenger traveling on the flight identified as Mohamed Nizamuddin Sheriff, 30 from the Pudukkottai district suddenly opened the aircraft’s emergency exit, jumped down, and ran away from the scene. This left the other passengers on board the aircraft in a state of profound shock.
Furthermore, the incident caused a great commotion throughout the airport premises. Responding swiftly, airport security officials and personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) rushed to the spot, surrounded the passenger who had jumped through the emergency exit in an attempt to escape, and apprehended him.
Nizamuddin received minor injuries in the incident and was shifted to the airport hospital for first aid. Consequently, the aircraft could not be brought to its designated parking bay on schedule and remained halted on the taxiway.
Also, a British Airways passenger flight arriving in Chennai from London was unable to land at the Chennai Airport and was diverted to the Bengaluru Airport as per officials.
In the meantime, officials from the Central Intelligence Bureau and high-ranking officers from the Chennai Airport security team rushed to the scene of the incident and initiated an investigation.
It is understood that when the passenger Mohamed Nizamuddin Sheriff was interrogated by the security agencies, he gave contradictory statements, rambled incoherently, and claimed that he had jumped out of the aircraft because he feared someone was going to murder him. This behavior heightened the suspicions of the security officials, who are conducting an intensive and thorough investigation from various angles.
Reports, quoting officials said that the passenger complained of a vomiting sensation and is believed to have vomited twice on board.
Furthermore, an Air Arabia passenger flight scheduled to depart for Sharjah at 4:00 AM on Sunday finally took off from Chennai at 7:45 AM—a delay of three and a half hours. Additionally, the British Airways passenger flight that had been diverted to Bengaluru returned to Chennai Airport, departed for London at approximately 9:00 AM.