Passengers on board a GoAir flight from New Delhi to Patna were panic-struck when a fellow traveller tried to open the exit door.

The passenger, who works in a leading private bank at Ajmer (in Rajasthan), was apprehended by the crew members and handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel when the aircraft landed at the Jayaprakash Narayan International airport in Patna.

“The CISF personnel handed him over to the airport police for interrogation,” a senior GoAir official told DH on Monday.

During questioning, the passenger, in his late 20s, argued that since he was travelling in an aircraft for the first time, he mistook the exit door as washroom door.

A couple of passengers, who watched him getting up from the seat and moving towards the washroom, alerted the crew members when he made an unsuccessful attempt to open the exit door.

Airport sources said the gate of an exit door of an airborne plane cannot be opened due to cabin pressure.

“We have verified his statements. He works in a prominent bank and had boarded the GoAir flight G8149 travelling from New Delhi to Patna. It’s also true that he is a first-time flier. Whatever happened late on Saturday evening was due to confusion,” said the station house officer (SHO) of the airport police station, Mohammad Sanowar Khan.

The passenger concerned was released on Sunday on a personal bond.