Air France makes emergency landing over disruptive passenger

A disruptive passenger forced an Air France flight en route from Paris to New Delhi to make an emergency landing at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria on Friday at 5 pm (1500 GMT). Bulgarian officials said late on Saturday, according to reports.

The passenger, an Indian citizen, began to act up soon after take-off, quarrelling with other passengers, assaulting a flight attendant and pummelling the cockpit’s door, said Ivailo Angelov, an official at the National Investigation Agency.

His aggressive behaviour prompted the flight’s commander to seek an emergency landing in Sofia. The man, whose name was not revealed, was taken off the aircraft and has been charged with endangering flight safety. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Air France flight resumed its journey to New Delhi later.

“We are investigating both his actions and his motives,” Angelov told reporters. “There is no reasonable explanation for his behaviour,” Angelov said.