Passenger held for ruckus at IGI Airport over denial to fly without RT-PCR report

New Delhi, June 22

A 36-year-old passenger from Uttar Pradesh was arrested for creating ruckus at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here after allegedly being denied boarding by the airline for not carrying a mandatory RT-PCR test report, police said on Tuesday.

Suraj Pandey, a businessman from Rudrapur in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Monday based on a complaint received from Deepak Chadha, Deputy Manager of Vistara Airlines, they said.

In his complaint, Chadha alleged that the passenger came to IGI Airport’s Vistara airline counter for heading to Mumbai by flight number UK933 but he did not have an RT-PCR report and was not allowed to board the aircraft following which he missed the flight, police said.

The airline official further alleged that around 3 pm, Pandey turned violent and started shouting. He also got onto the baggage belt and started walking on it and obstructed the airline staff and other passengers, police added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Rajeev Ranjan said, “We checked the CCTV footage to verify the complainant’s version. From the contents of the complaint, CCTV footage and enquiry conducted so far, accused Suraj Pandey had committed offence under relevant sections of the Delhi Police Act. Subsequently, he was arrested and his medical examination was also conducted.”            

Since it was a bailable offence, the accused passenger was released on bail and will be produced before a court here, he said.

An official statement issued by the Vistara spokesperson said the customer booked the flight from Delhi to Mumbai on June 21 but was not accepted on the flight as he was not carrying a Covid-19 RT-PCR test report, which is mandatory as per government guidelines.

“In reaction, he behaved badly with our staff and other customers, and his acts threatened the safety of ground operations. We have provided a full refund of the booking to the customer and notified the authorities of the incident,” the spokesperson added.

Vistara stands firm with its zero-tolerance policy against unruly behaviour or act that endangers the safety, security, and dignity of its customers and staff, the airline further said. PTI

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