Punched numbers in cockpit keypad: Youth, 7 others handed over to CISF on arrival in Varanasi

NEW DELHI: Air India Express has handed over eight passengers travelling in a group from Bengaluru to Varansi by IX 1086 on Monday after one of them punched in some numbers on the keypad of the cockpit door lock.

Sources say one of the “young man” of this group went to the forward galley and “fiddled” with the same “by punching some numbers”, which sent an alarm inside to the pilots. The airline is treating this as unruly behaviour of the highest level (three) that covers interfering with aircraft systems which entails being on the no fly list from a minimum of two years to a lifetime.“The cockpit door did not open. The cabin crew immediately went to this person.

He claimed to be a first time flyer looking for the lavatory. After being asked to get away from the cockpit door, he returned to his seat,” said an airline official.On arrival in Varanasi, all the eight flyers were handed over to the CISF. “The entire group of eight claimed to be first time flyers. The young man who punched in random numbers on the cockpit keypad claimed to be looking for the lav. The security agencies will now find out what their real intentions were.

This is being treated as most serious level of unreal behaviour,” said sources.“We are aware of an incident on one of our flights to Varanasi, where a passenger approached the cockpit entry area while looking for the lavatory. We reaffirm that robust safety and security protocols are in place and were not compromised. The matter was reported to the relevant authorities on landing and is currently under investigation,” said an Air India Express spokesperson.