What happens when passengers react to a long flight delay by refusing to leave rather demanding to deplane? One Air Asia captain had to resort to fairly unorthodox tactics…at least that’s what passengers are claiming.
An Air Asia flight operating Kolkata to Bagdogra (277 miles) was over four hours late due to heavy rains outside. The captain asked the passengers to disembark, but all refused: citing the heavy rain.
Passneger Dipankar Ray, an Indian oil executive, told NDTV what happened next:
When passengers refused to deboard due to heavy rains outside, the captain put the air-conditioning blower on full blast to hound the passengers out. It created a scary scene as heavy fog was created inside the plane and it was very suffocating.
He claimed that a lack of food and water coupled with a sudden violent outburst of air made women and children vomit.
This onboard video has gone viral:
And indeed, this video does show a particular amount of condensation inside the aircraft. This is a common occurrence when cold air inside reacts with warm humid air outside. Even so, I’m not sure if I agree with View from the Wing that the captain was not responsible.
Passengers report the air increased in intensity suddenly. Furthermore, this occurred just minutes after the captain demanded that everyone deplane.
For its part, Air Asia claimed:
This is a normal occurrence on-board all aircraft when the air conditioning is operated in high humidity conditions.
CONCLUSION
While onboard mist is nothing to ordinary be alarmed about, I can see why this incident evoked hysteria. In the end, though, everyone seemed to be okay. One more reminder to always obey the captain…
Lols