Chaotic scenes broke out on a THAI Smile flight from Bangkok to Kolkata earlier this week. Videos online show a fight breaking out between a group and one passenger, leading to physical blows as the crew tried to calm the situation and separate them. Let’s find out more.
Air rage incident
On Monday or Tuesday (accounts differ), scenes turned ugly on a THAI Smile, the low-cost arm of THAI Airways, flight from Bangkok Airport (BKK) to Kolkata (CCU). A video of the incident can be seen below, where two passengers can be heard arguing over an unknown reason. Soon after one says, “don’t raise your hands,” a brawl breaks out, with a group of passengers assaulting the other, who tries to defend himself and doesn’t hit back in the video.
Meanwhile, the crew were on the scene from the beginning, at first trying to break the pair apart before jumping out of the way for safety momentarily as blows land. One crew member can even be heard asking the group to stop over the PA system, with terrified passengers looking on.
According to Moneycontrol, the fight broke out while the aircraft was taxiing to the runway. The crew eventually managed to contain the passengers and return them to their seats, per passenger accounts. Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the flight departed a few minutes late and arrive on time, meaning that the passengers were likely not asked to return to the gate and deplane.
Airline responds
In a statement to NDTV, a THAI Smile spokesperson said,
“THAI Smile Airways feels sorry for this. We reaffirm that the incident has been taken care of as we followed the flight safety procedures in accordance with international standards. Our flight crews have already provided support to the persons affected by an incident.”
Moneycontrol and PTI report the incident occurred on 26th December, Monday, while some claim it occurred the next day. Simple Flying has reached out to THAI Smile for a statement and to confirm the date of the incident.
Photo: Shutterstock
The incident on THAI Smile flight WE313 comes a week after another high-profile argument, onboard an IndiGo flight from Istanbul to Delhi. In that case, a passenger was seen shouting at a crew member, including calling her a “servant of the passenger”, which prompted the crew member to respond in kind, reminding the passenger that they cannot speak to the crew disrespectfully. While thankfully the IndiGo situation ended with an argument and reprimand for the passenger, the THAI Smile incident led to physical blows.
Air rage is a serious issue
While the two incidents have shaken up the Indian public, air rage is not new, with countries globally seeing incidents every year. Last year, the FAA was forced to issue zero-tolerance guidelines for air rage incidents, which saw many travelers face tens of thousands of dollars in fines and travel bans for dangerous behavior.
In the case of the THAI Smile incident, the DGCA has been unable to take action since the aircraft is foreign-registered, meaning the culprits were not reprimanded upon landing in Kolkata, according to journalist Saurabh Sinha. For now, expect to see strict action against any passengers who act disrespectfully toward crew or engage in violence onboard.
What do you think about the recent air rage incidents on India-bound flights? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Moneycontrol, NDTV
