A passenger and his family were thrown off a commercial airliner in Nepal’s capital after he allegedly slapped a cabin crew member during a row. The scuffle occurred just before the SpiceJet plane was scheduled to fly frustrated passengers from Kathmandu to New Delhi, India following a five-hour flight delay. Both sides are denying blame as the 67-year-old man, identified as PK Maheshwari, claims the cabin crew member struck his foot, while the Indian low-cost airline alleges he assaulted the woman. SpiceJet claims a passenger slapped a cabin crew member following a lengthy delay in Kathmandu As the situation escalated the pilot intervened and ordered the man, his 62-year-old wife and a nine-year-old family member to leave the Boeing 737.
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SpiceJet says the incident occurred before the plane was due to depart
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Airline says assault was witnessed by other passengers
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Man denies slapping the woman and claims she struck his foot
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He has filed a complaint seeking compensation and an apology
The spokesman added: ‘There is zero tolerance of this kind of physical abuse of crew anywhere in the world, including @placeholder and therefore the captain made the decision he did, which is fully within his authority, is backed by relevant regulations and is fully supported by management.’