Army officer attacks SpiceJet staff over cabin luggage dispute; FIR filed
New Delhi: SpiceJet on Sunday, August 3, said a senior Army officer, who was to board a flight to Delhi, assaulted four airline ground staffers at the Srinagar airport on July 26, and one of them suffered a spinal fracture.
The Army officer was bound to travel from Srinagar to Delhi on July 26. At the check-in counter, an argument took place between him and the staff after he was found carrying two pieces of cabin baggage weighing a total of 16 kg, more than double the permitted limit of 7 kg.
“When politely informed of the excess baggage and asked to pay the applicable charges, the passenger refused and forcefully entered the aerobridge without completing the boarding process – a clear violation of aviation security protocols. He was escorted back to the gate by a CISF official,” SpiceJet released a statement.
Video clips of the incident shared on social media showed the passenger assaulting the staff and one of them being hit with a queue stand at the airport.
“Our staff members suffered a spinal fracture and serious jaw injuries after being attacked with punches, repeated kicks and a queue stand,” the statement read.
One employee collapsed unconscious on the floor, but the Army officer continued kicking and hitting the fainted employee. “Another staff member suffered bleeding from the nose and mouth after receiving a forceful kick to the jaw while bending down to assist the colleague who had fainted,” it read, adding, the injured are under medical treatment.
An FIR has been registered with the local police, and the airline has initiated the process to place the passenger on the no-fly list in accordance with civil aviation regulations. The airline also said that it has secured the CCTV footage of the incident from the airport authorities and handed it over to the police.
In recent times, there have been a number of cases of passenger rage. Recently, a video emerged showing an Indigo passenger slapping a Muslim co-traveller after the latter suffered an alleged panic attack. The incident occurred onboard the Mumbai-Kolkata flight. Cabin crew and other passengers reprimanded the person, telling him he had no right to assault and was quickly deboarded. IndiGo imposed a flying ban on the unruly passenger.
(With PTI inputs)
