Airline Passenger Refuses To Get Frisked, Says Security Measures 'Harass' Flyers

A GoAir passenger was not allowed to board a flight after he refused to get frisked. The incident took place at the Bagdogra airport in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal on Saturday.

The unidentified passenger was scheduled to travel to New Delhi but refused to undergo a second security check before boarding the flight. He also asked the officials as to why he was being checked so many times before telling them “Yes I have a bomb, what will you do.”

The staff at the ladder point requested the man to cooperate with them. He, however, refused and instead said these security measures were “intended to harass passengers.” He went on to say that he was also checked by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer and wouldn’t want to be checked again. He then went on to repeat the statement, "If I carry a bomb, what will you do?"

Post this, senior officials were called in and the man was refused entry into the plane. His luggage too was offloaded. The airline said a complaint against the passenger was filed with the outpost police station.

The airline said the new directive of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made "Secondary Ladder Point Security" compulsory. This requires the passengers to be checked right before boarding the flight. This was made mandatory in all airports across the country. Meanwhile, it was not known if the man was arrested post the incident.

The incident comes a few months after all the passengers of a GoAir flight were deboarded after a first-time flyer opened the emergency exit. The passenger, who was seated on the emergency exit row, opened the emergency exit immediately after the pushback of the flight. This caused a commotion and “the agile pilot and crew members had to immediately halt the aircraft.” The passenger was taken to the airport police station and let off after a warning.