Passenger jumps off Air Arabia plane during taxiing at Chennai airport – What happened?

In a strange turn of events, a passenger onboard an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah opened and jumped off the emergency exit on the aircraft while it was taxiing at Chennai International Airport after landing on Sunday (May 3). The incident led to a brief disruption of runway operations. The passenger was taken into custody by local police through CISF.

Flight G90471 (A6-AOP, A320) Air Arabia Sharjah to Chennai arrived at 0323 hrs. According to official sources cited by ANI, “The aircraft became disabled on RWY 07/25 on Taxiway V at approximately 0324 hrs due to a passenger opening the emergency door and exiting the aircraft, and the passenger has been taken into custody by local police through CISF.”

The official further added that the incident resulted in temporary shutdown of the main runway. “Consequently, the main runway was closed at 0325 hrs. The aircraft was later towed from Taxiway V at 0427 hrs, runway operations resumed at 0435 hrs, and the aircraft was positioned at Bay 30 on chocks at 0440 hrs,” they said.

The airport authorities said that the operations returned to normal soon after the incident. In a statement, they said, “All operations are normal at Chennai Airport from 0435 IST.”

The passenger was apprehended by the security personnel, including the CISF, after he exited the aircraft. He was later handed over to the local police for further inquiry.

While the incident led to a brief disruption on the runway, no injuries to crew or other passengers were reported. Although the individual who jumped sustained minor abrasions.

A detailed investigation has been launched into the incident. The officials are also looking into whether there were any procedural lapses during taxiing and deboarding protocols. A thorough safety inspection of the aircraft involved was also undertaken after the unauthorised deployment of the emergency slide and door.