There was chaos in an Indigo flight when a passenger tried to open the emergency exit door just before landing. This incident happened during landing at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi. According to officials, the flight was coming from Bengaluru to Varanasi at around 10:20 pm on Saturday (29 March 2026) and was about to land. Then suddenly a passenger tried to press the emergency exit button. Seeing the situation, the pilot immediately aborted the landing and took the plane back into the air, thereby averting any major danger.

A few minutes after the incident, the plane landed safely at around 10:35. During this time, an atmosphere of panic had arisen among more than 100 passengers on board the plane. According to the police, the accused has been identified as 26-year-old Mohammad Adnan. It was told that he had tried to tamper with the emergency gate some time after take off, but at that time the cabin crew had stopped him and calmed him down.

Accused handed over to CISF

After landing, the accused was handed over to the security agencies. First the airline’s security team and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) detained him, after which he was handed over to the local police. During interrogation, the accused first made the strange claim that he was under the influence of a ghost, but later said that he did not know that the door could be opened by pressing the emergency button. In this case, the police have registered a case against the accused under the section of endangering people’s lives. After interrogation, he was given a notice and handed over to his family. At present the investigation of the case is going on.

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A new controversy related to flight safety has come to light in India. The Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPAI) has written a letter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) objecting to increasing the Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) for Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. DGCA has recently changed the rules related to duty time limits for Dreamliner aircraft with two-pilot crew. According to the new rules, 10 hours of flight time has been reduced to 10 hours 30 minutes and 13 hours of duty has been reduced to 14 hours. The association says that this change is a matter of serious concern and may increase fatigue.

ALPAI, in its letter to DGCA, said that the already imposed limit of 10 hours was enough to increase fatigue. The pilots argued that there is no shortage of pilots in the country, hence there is no point in extending the deadline. However, the letter said that the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on Flight Duty Time Limit was based on scientific and international research, aimed at preventing performance degradation due to pilot fatigue. The policy was made in line with the recommendations and guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ALPAI accused DGCA of Commercial airlines have focused more on convenience than safety.

FAA instructions and seat recline problems

In their letter, the pilots have also mentioned the recent directive of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAA-2024-0218. Under this directive, the ability to recline the captain’s seat in the Boeing 787 aircraft has been banned for safety reasons. ALPAI said that this seat recline restriction makes it difficult for pilots to rest during long flights. This has a direct impact on their performance. In view of this situation, many airlines in the world have decided to include additional pilot crew in their Boeing 787 aircraft to reduce the risk of fatigue, but in India, DGCA on the contrary increased the duty period of the two-man crew, which according to ALPAI is not the right step.

comparison with international standards

Experts associated with the aviation world say that this change made in India’s FDTL standards is contrary to global standards. In America, Europe and Australia, flight duration and duty time are decided on the basis of fatigue. In these countries, three or four pilots are usually employed on long flights so that each crew can get adequate rest in between. Aviation experts believe that the two-pilot system in long-haul flights like Boeing 787 is risky in terms of safety. There is already additional pressure on pilots due to the recent increase in flight schedules in India and expansion of international operations.

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