Ranchi man tries to open plane's emergency door, handed over to police

New Delhi: A man tried to open the emergency door of an Air Asia flight from Delhi to Ranchi minutes before landing, endangering the lives of people on board, official sources said.

The passenger, identified as Aftab Ahmed, allegedly also injured some passengers and flight attendants when they attempted to stop him. The incidents occurred on Monday at around 9.50 pm, the sources said. AirAsia on Tuesday confirmed that the airline had encountered an “unruly” passenger. “AirAsia India would like to confirm that the airline encountered an unruly passenger onboard flight number i5 546 from New Delhi to Ranchi on July 10th that led to inconvenience to guests and crew on board,” it said in a statement.

The flight, however, landed at and departed from the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on time, AirAsia added.

It was not immediately known why Ahmed had tried to open the door. Said to be a resident of Ranchi, he was handed over to the local police.