On Friday, December 19, passenger Ankit Dewan says that he, his wife, 7-year old daughter and 4-month old infant were directed into the staff security line at Delhi airport’s terminal 1 because of their stroller.
He says that airline crew were cutting ahead of him in the line, and when he objected, an Air India Express captain confronted him and insulted him (including calling him “anpadh,” or illiterate and uneducated), pointing to signage suggesting the lane was for staff. A heated exchange followed, with Dewan invoking the pilot’s ill mother.
As he proceeded toward the area for frisking, the pilot reportedly approached and struck him, leaving him bloodied. The airline forced him to sign a letter that he wouldn’t pursue the matter, he says, otherwise he’d miss his flight and screw up the family’s trip.
Here is a short video of Capt. Virender Sejwal looking at me lying on the floor, covered in blood, and probably realising the gravity of the situation for the first time.
And a few more things that I did not mention in my earlier post:
My wife kept requesting for first aid.… https://t.co/CXlrqchhxC pic.twitter.com/x49XtWvfpE— Ankit Dewan (@ankitdewan) December 20, 2025
Air India Express says they condemn the pilot’s behavior and that he has been removed from duty pending investigation. India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation says it has ordered them to ground the pilot. The pilot continued as a passenger to Bengaluru on IndiGo, but was blocked from operating his next Air India Express trip.
One Mile at a Time says he can “see both sides” up until the point the confrontation got physical. The dad probably didn’t like being cut in line by the pilot, but that’s not necessarily wrong. He does acknowledge that “to go from having a verbal disagreement to beating someone up to the point that your shirt is full of blood is a major, inexcusable escalation.”
Most importantly, this captain isn’t someone whose judgment and temperament is appropriate for the cockpit of a commercial aircraft.
Words are not violence. Verbal “assault” is an oxymoron. It is not OK to respond to words with fists. I learned that long before kindergarten.
Uff Tata Sons have enough on their plate and now this.
Many these days feel its acceptable to use violence every time their feelings are hurt. Violence is unacceptable in any human society no matter what.
Totally 100%, inexcusable conduct to physically assault another person like this. The former now unemployed pilot obviously without any doubt has emotional mental health & anger management issues. Completely inexcusable and I hope that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Assault can be threatening violence so verbal assault is not an oxymoron. This can be learned by using a dictionary at an age appropriate for understanding the definitions in a dictionary.
The passenger seems like a jerk but that doesn’t give the pilot license to attack him. I’m with @Gary: If the pilot doesn’t have the temperament to handle that level of stress then how could he manage to keep control in a genuine emergency?