Curious Passenger Grounds Akasa Flight QP1491 for an Hour

News of the delayed takeoff of Akasa Airlines flight QP1491 at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi on Thursday evening, after a passenger opened an emergency exit handle cover out of curiosity.

The event caused the flight to return to the apron from the runway after the pilot contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC), and the plane was moved back. The flight was bound for Bengaluru and took off once security checks were done. The passenger who caused it, identified as Ajay Tiwari, was handed over to Phulpur police.

Akasa Airlines flight QP-1491 was scheduled to depart from Varanasi to Bengaluru around 7:55pm, and passenger Ajay, a first-time flyer seated at 16A near the emergency exit, opened the cover of the emergency exit handle. A vigilant crew member noticed it and informed the pilot immediately.

Ajay, the passenger who caused it, was taken into custody by Phulpur police after a complaint from Akasa Airlines' Delhi office. Ajay, a resident of Lambhua town in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, operated a boom lift at a cement factory in Karur, Tamil Nadu, and was flying to Bengaluru, from where he had to go to Tamil Nadu. 

During questioning, Ajay told police that he opened the emergency exit cover by mistake, as he wanted to understand how the emergency exit works. A case was registered against him under section 125 BNS (acts endangering life or personal safety of others) by Phulpur Police Station Officer Pravin Kumar.

Events of such nature naturally raise a concern for crucial safety education to be imparted to the passengers seated beside it by the onboard crews before takeoff, thereby avoiding repetition of such incidents.