Uncovering of ‘affair’ midair forces Bali flight to land in Chennai

THE QATAR FLIGHT WAS DIVERTED TO CHENNAI UPON THE REQUEST OF THE PILOT WHO CITED THE ’UNRULY PASSENGER ON BOARD AS REASON

NEW DELHI: A couple’s holiday trip to Bali ended in India after the woman discovered her husband’s alleged extra-marital affair by scanning her cellphone while he was asleep.

The Doha-bali flight of Qatar Airways was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Chennai airport after the duo entered into an argument.

The incident took place on Sunday morning. The Qatar Airways flight QR-962 (Doha-bali) was diverted to Chennai upon the request of the pilot who cited the “unruly passenger on board” as the reason.

“The woman and her husband along with their child were offloaded following which the flight departed for Bali,” said an officer of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), requesting anonymity.

The family, hailing from Iran, was coming from Doha. Sources said that since they were not having Indian visa and were kept at the detention centre.

The woman had unlocked her husband’s cellphone using his thumb impression when he was sleeping. The crew tried to pacify her but to no avail.

“The family spent the day at Chennai airport and was sent to Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air flight. No police action was taken,” the officer said.

“In the interests of passenger privacy we do not comment on individual cases,” a Qatar Airways spokesperson said.