Dubai: An Indian man, who stripped mid-air on a flight from Dubai to Lucknow in India on Saturday, was mentally disturbed and sent home with his relatives without being penalised, sources told Gulf News.
An airport official from Lucknow, the capital of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, confirmed that the man, who shocked fellow passengers and crew of the Air India Express flight, is a 33-year-old UAE resident.
Working with a construction company, he was travelling alone, the source said.
“It appears that he had a momentary episode of hysterical behaviour and he removed his trouser and shirt,” the source said over phone from Lucknow.
The crew on flight IX-194, which had over 150 passengers on board, reportedly swung into action and wrapped him in a blanket when he started walking down the aisle nude.
Two crew members held him and kept him seated as the flight kept moving, Indian news agency ANI reported on Sunday night.
After the flight landed at Lucknow airport past noon, the nude passenger was handed over to the security.
“At the airport, he was taken by airline security and was allowed to go on humanitarian grounds. His relatives had come to receive him at the airport. The relatives said he was harassed by some people and that’s why he was depressed,” the source from Lucknow said.
Airline officials also confirmed that the man was let off without being penalised for indecent exposure in public and disrupting the duty of the crew since the investigation found that he was mentally disturbed.
