Man held for molesting air hostess on flight

After Jet Airways flight number 9W563 from Dammam landed at Mumbai airport on Monday at 4.25 am, an unruly passenger was arrested by the Sahar police for allegedly molesting an air hostess onboard the aircraft.

As soon as the aircraft landed, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was informed which dragged the passenger in question, Mohammad Arif Abubakhar, to Sahar police station where a case was registered against him. A Sahar police official said, “We have booked Abubakhar under section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC for clicking a picture of the air hostess. Along with it, he was booked under Aircraft Act 1987 U/S 25 for smoking on the flight”.

Airline sources said Abubakhar was smoking on the flight and when the air hostess informed him that smoking was prohibited, he tried to click a selfie with her. An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation told this newspaper that firstly, clicking a photograph in the aircraft is not allowed and also, as per civil aviation regulations 1988 – regulation 255, in-flight smoking is prohibited by almost all airlines.