TIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The grounded Air India's Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight finally took off after eight hours. A hijack alarm was set off by the pilot of Air India's Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight on Friday morning after unruly passengers tried to storm the cockpit of the aircraft when it landed at Tiruvananthapuram, instead of Kochi, due to inclement weather.



According to reports, the passengers aboard the Air India Express flight refused to disembark at the Tiruvananthapuram airport despite the authorities suggesting that the passengers would be taken to Kochi by road.



The passengers, however, said that there was a more than 3-hour delay first in taking off from Abu Dhabi and then the aircraft was taken to the 'wrong' destination. The passengers also alleged that the airline did not keep its promise of taking them to Kochi. Irate passengers said that the flight reached Tiruvananthapuram at 6 a.m. and thereafter the passengers were asked to make their own arrangements to travel to Kochi.



This led to a major ruckus in the aircraft as the angry passengers refused to get off the aircraft and tried to storm the cockpit.



The entry of any unauthorized person into the aircraft's cockpit is a clear violation of security norms and is considered akin to a hijack. The pilot thus triggered off the alarm, adding to the unfolding drama.

There is no clarity yet on the identity of the passengers who tried to barge into the cockpit.

















