In a blatant disregard for aviation rules and ignoring passenger safety, the pilot of a Sri Lankan Airlines flight (No. UL 172) bound for Colombo from Bengaluru International Airport, allegedly allowed two women to accompany him in the cockpit for the entire length of the journey.
Passengers on the flight, which took off from BIA around 9.15 pm on Friday, claimed that the two women travelled in the cockpit all through. The passengers, who were worried about their safety, protested.
According to Gowtham Udayashankar, a Bengaluru resident, who travelled by business class on the flight, the two women got into the cockpit immediately after the flight took off from BIA.
“The women were in seat nos. 6C and 9E. They spent whole travel time inside the cockpit. Even though passengers repeatedly requested them to come out, they did not,” he said.
According to Udayashankar, the women, who were carrying bottles of beer in their hand, claimed that the pilot was their cousin.
“The flight landed around 11.25 pm and passengers are still at the airport protesting. We will lodge a complaint with the airline authorities on Saturday,” he told Deccan Chronicle from Colombo.