Air Arabia passenger opens emergency exit and jumps off plane mid-taxi at Chennai airport

CHENNAI, May 3 — A routine landing turned chaotic at Chennai International Airport this morning when a passenger aboard Air Arabia flight  G9471 unexpectedly opened an emergency exit and jumped onto the runway moments after touchdown.

The incident happened aboard an Airbus A320 that was flying from Sharjah, had 231 passengers on board when it landed at around 3.23am, several Indians news outlets reported.

The jump occurred as the plane was taxiing towards the terminal, forcing the pilot to immediately halt the aircraft and alert airport authorities.

Airport operations were briefly thrown into disarray, with the main runway closed as a safety precaution shortly after the incident.

“The passenger was identified as 29-year-old Mohamed Sherif Mohamed Najmudeen. He jumped off the aircraft’s emergency exit on Taxiway V. This incident took place around 3.25 am,” an unnamed official was quoted by The Hindustan Times as saying.

“The airline staff informed security personnel and took the passenger to local police, who took him into custody,” another airport official, also anonymous, was quoted as saying.

The jumper reportedly ran towards the airport’s commercial area, briefly alarming staff and passengers before security personnel intervened and apprehended him.

Officials said he sustained injuries after jumping from the aircraft and was taken for medical treatment.

Another airport source said the passenger, believed to be from Tamil Nadu’s Pudukkottai, had claimed he was “unstable” at the time of the incident, though investigations are ongoing.

The aircraft was later towed to a parking bay around 4.25am, while runway operations resumed approximately an hour later at 4.35am.