Crew-passenger fight delays Indian flight

A Delhi-Kolkata IndiGo flight was delayed for over three hours after an altercation between a passenger and cabin crew, with both parties filing police complaints, The Times of India reported.
According to the crew, the passenger was identified as a lawyer, seated in 31D. The report quoted the crew as saying that the passenger boarded the aircraft in an inebriated condition and began urging fellow travellers to chant ‘Har Har Mahadev’ (a religious Hindu slogan).

Their complaint further stated that once the flight took off, he tried to conceal a soft drink bottle that smelled of alcohol, and when questioned, he quickly gulped it down. The man was later handed over to security personnel at Kolkata airport.

The lawyer, however, refuted the charges, informing the police that he had consumed a beer at Delhi‘s IGI Airport before boarding and produced a purchase invoice as proof.

As per the report, the passenger, in his counter-complaint, accused the airline staff of harassment and claimed he was denied basic services. He also insisted that his greeting of ‘Har Har Mahadev‘ to the crew was not meant to offend anyone.

IndiGo officials told TOI that the cabin crew reported the flyer as “unruly” and “drunk“. The airline added that the passenger’s complaint was also being looked into.

Later, in an official statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said, “We are aware of an incident of unruly behaviour onboard IndiGo flight 6E 6571 operating from Delhi to Kolkata on 01 September 2025."

“One of the customers onboard, under the influence of alcohol, was found to be misbehaving with the cabin crew and disturbing fellow passengers. In line with established protocols, the said customer was declared unruly and was handed over to security upon arrival," the spokesperson said.

“A formal complaint was also lodged with the relevant authorities," the statement mentioned.

On Tuesday, a Nagpur-Kolkata IndiGo flight returned to the Nagpur airport following a bird strike soon after take-off.

The plane was carrying nearly 165 passengers at the time of the incident. The flight was later cancelled as the aircraft suffered nose damage in the bird hit.