The Delhi-Mumbai flight had to return to the bay and deboard the unruly fliers
- Two passengers on SpiceJet Delhi-Mumbai flight tried to enter the cockpit while taxiing
- Passengers urged troublemakers to sit and called for CISF security intervention
- Unruly passengers have emerged as a major challenge for airlines and their staff over the past couple of years
Dramatic scenes played out on board a SpiceJet Delhi-Mumbai flight when two passengers, reportedly upset with the air-conditioning, tried to enter the cockpit after the plane had started taxiing on the runway.
A video that has gone viral shows fellow passengers asking the troublemakers to sit down. "You cannot stop a plane like this; this is illegal," one of the passengers says. "AC chala de, hum baith jayenge" (switch the AC on, we will sit down)," comes the reply from the rear part of the cabin. Some passengers are then heard telling the cabin crew to call CISF security personnel and deboard the troublemakers. "Those who don't want to go, make sure they get down," says a flier.
According to air traffic tracker Flightradar24, the SpiceJet flight S9282, which was scheduled to depart at 12.30 pm yesterday, eventually took off at 7.21 pm and landed in Mumbai at 9.05 pm. It is not clear if the seven-hour delay was caused by the disruption due to unruly passengers.
"On July 14, 2025, two unruly passengers were offloaded from SpiceJet flight SG 9282 operating from Delhi to Mumbai. The two attempted to forcefully approach the cockpit and caused a disruption while the aircraft was taxiing," SpiceJet said in a statement.
"Despite repeated requests by the cabin crew, fellow passengers, and the Captain, they refused to return to their seats. In the interest of the safety of all passengers and crew, the Captain decided to return the aircraft to the bay, and the passengers were offloaded. They were subsequently handed over to the CISF," the spokesperson said.
Unruly passengers have emerged as a major challenge for airlines and their staff over the past couple of years. Back in 2023, an Indian man travelling from New York to Delhi allegedly urinated on a co-passenger on an American Airlines flight. The accused was drunk and urinated on the co-passenger during an argument. A similar incident had taken place in 2022 when a drunk man allegedly urinated on an elderly woman in the business class of an Air India flight.
The Director General of Civil Aviation has introduced tough measures to tackle the problem unruly passengers and ensure the safety of fliers onboard aircraft.
