Indigo Airlines under investigation after passenger who complained about mosquitoes removed from flight

India’s Civil Aviation Minister has launched a probe into Indigo Airlines after a passenger – who alleged there were mosquitoes onboard – was removed from a flight.

Passenger Dr Saurabh Rai was due to fly from Lucknow to Bengaluru on IndiGo flight 6E 541 on 10 April, when he was removed after making the complaint. Another passenger, Sumit Kumar, corroborated his allegation regarding mosquitoes on Twitter.

Asian News International published comments from Dr Rai, saying: “The Indigo flight from Lucknow to Bengaluru was full of mosquitoes, when I raised objection, I was manhandled by the crew and offloaded from the aircraft, I was even threatened.”

The airline told The Independent that Dr Rai was removed from the flight for his “belligerent behaviour”, but insists “at no point was there any physical altercation with the passenger”.

It said in a statement: “Once all passengers were on board; doors had been closed; and the welcome announcement was in progress, Dr Rai seated on 22C started complaining about mosquitoes still being present inside the aircraft. The lead cabin attendant tried to pacify Dr Rai and even showed the two used empty cans of the approved aircraft insecticide as well as the mosquito repellant patches.

“However, Dr Rai was not satisfied and came forward 10 rows to row 12, while the seatbelt sign was on, and started aggressively demanding that the aircraft be sprayed again, even if it meant deplaning the passengers and delaying the flight.

“The lead tried to explain that this was a pressurized cabin and as the temperature cools down, the phenomena would subside.

“On hearing this argument, some other passengers started questioning the delay and insisted that the flight depart without any further delay. However, Dr Rai continued to insist that the flight not depart which was opposed by some other passengers. This resulted in a loud argument in the forward galley next to the cockpit door

“Once the lead informed the captain, the captain also made an announcement to try to calm the passengers. But since the altercation kept escalating, the captain informed ground security and who in turn sought help as per prescribed protocol from the quick response team of the CISF.

“Once the quick response team of the CISF and IndiGo’s ground personnel reached the aircraft, in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, the matter was further discussed in the presence of CISF personnel. At no point of time was there any physical altercation with the passenger.

“In the presence of CISF, the IndiGo security staff explained the situation to Dr. Rai. In the meantime, some of the other passengers started complaining about him being on-board since they felt that he had already delayed the aircraft and behaved in an inappropriate manner.

“In this background of his belligerent behavior and on the concerns raised by other passengers, a decision was taken to deplane Dr. Rai from the aircraft to ensure the safe conduct of the flight.”

However, IndiGo seemed to confirm the mosquito problem in replies to Sumit Singh.

“Hi, Sumit! Apologies for the experience,” the airline wrote. “As per NGT regulation, fumigation can be done only when passengers are not on-board. We comply with that and would like to clarify that while we have defined procedures to avoid such instances.”

“We are sure that you will understand that entry of insects or flies cannot be completely guarded against,” it added. “However, your feedback is valuable to us and we’re sharing the same with the concerned team to avoid such instances in future.”

NGT regulation refers to India’s National Green Tribunal act, which handles issues related to the environment.