It was a spine-chilling sight as passengers on a Moscow-Delhi flight watched a Russian tourist onboard trying to open the door of the plane mid-air. They ought to thank the crew of the Aeroflot airline who swung into action and controlled the reportedly drunk man.

As the Russian de-boarded at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), he was whisked away by the police and later fined Rs 50,000 by the court.

"On May 22, duty manager of Aeroflot had made a PCR call regarding an unruly passenger on board Flight SU 232, Moscow-New Delhi. The Moscow control room of the airline was also alerted. After the flight landed at T3, the pilot handed over the passenger with Flight Disturbance Report (FDR). The report mentioned that the passenger tried to open the gate of the aircraft mid-air in an inebriated state and also consumed alcohol on board," a Delhi Police official was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

"Based on the complaint, facts and circumstances, action has been taken against the passenger as per the aircraft act," DCP (airport) Sanjay Bhatia told the daily.

Cases of unruly passengers have seen a spike, of late. In April, a passenger turned violent on a Dubai-Delhi flight and had to be tied down to his seat.

Recently, a passenger misbehaved with an Air India air hostess on a flight coming from Muscat.

Two passengers were found in a drunken state by the British Airways at Delhi airport and offloaded as they were hell-bent on playing a musical instrument in the flight.

Source: Khaleej Times