Air India passenger booked for unruly behaviour on London-Mumbai flight, refuses to pay Rs 25,000 for bail, lands in jail

In yet another case of mid-air unruly behaviour, a man booked for allegedly smoking and misbehaving inside the Air India flight was sent to jail after he didn’t pay Rs 25,000 for bail, news agency PTI reported.

The accused named Ratnakar Dwivedi claimed that under section 336 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) he was supposed to pay Rs 250 and was ready to pay. However, the court asked him to pay Rs 25,000 for bail, which he refused and decided to stay in jail.

Dwivedi was booked under section 336 (the act of endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code after he was caught smoking in the lavatory of Air India's London-Mumbai flight on March 10.

"A passenger on our flight AI130, operating London-Mumbai on March 10, was found smoking in the lavatory. Subsequently, he behaved in an unruly and aggressive manner, despite repeated warnings," Air India said.

The FIR showed that Dwivedi went to a lavatory on the plane on the London-Mumbai flight at around 8 am and started smoking while the flight was airborne. Once the smoke alarm stopped, the cabin crew knocked on the door of the toilet and saw a passenger carrying a blue coloured lighter with him. He was also showing aggressive behaviour with the crew members.

There has been an increase in the cases of such unruly behaviour inside flights. Recently, a US citizen has been booked for allegedly smoking in the bathroom and misbehaving with other passengers on Air India London-Mumbai flight.

A case was registered against 37-year-old Ramakant in Mumbai's Sahar Police Station for causing inconvenience mid-flight on March 11

Aviation regulator DGCA recently issued show cause notice to Air India regarding two incidents of passenger misbehaviour onboard Paris-New Delhi flight last month. DGCA taking cognizance of such egregious incidents on another Air India flight spells a lot more bad news for the airline already reeling from a 34-year-old man urinating on a senior citizen on a New York-Delhi flight.

Also Read: Air India passenger smoked in bathroom, another urinated on vacant seat in Paris-Delhi flight; DGCA issues show cause notice