Chennai: Passenger caught smoking in flight deboarded, case registered

Chennai: A passenger Arumugam (30) from Ramanathapuram district was caught smoking on an IndiGo flight from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur last night. The incident caused the flight to depart by an hour. While the flight was preparing to take off, the cabin crew noticed that Arumugam was smoking on his seat. Despite repeated warnings from the crew and other passengers, he continued to smoke. The crew then informed the pilot, who in turn informed the Chennai airport authorities.
The flight was stopped and security personnel boarded the aircraft to deboard Arumugam and he was taken off. He was handed over to the Chennai airport police, who arrested him and registered a case against him for violating aviation rules and smoking on board the flight. The flight, carrying 173 passengers, departed an hour late at 11.07 pm. Arumugam’s trip to Malaysia was cancelled and he was charged with violating aviation rules and smoking on board the flight. Further investigation is underway.