An altercation occurred on a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata on December 27. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is currently investigating a video clip of the incident.

Following the viral video of the mid-air brawl, Thai Smile Airways has reportedly issued an apology for the incident. A Twitter account bearing the name of the Thai carrier posted a statement: “THAI Smile Airways feels sorry for this. We reaffirm that the incident has been taken care of as we followed the flight safety procedures in accordance with international standards. Our flight crews have already provided support to the persons affected by an incident.” It should be noted that the authenticity of this Twitter handle has not been verified.

The scuffle on the Thai Smile Airways flight reportedly began when a passenger refused to recline their seat before takeoff. Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security announced its inquiry into the video clip of the brawl. BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan stated, “BCAS has taken cognizance of the video. We have started inquiring, and further action will be taken depending on the inquiry outcome.”

NDTV journalist Vishnu Som, in a tweet, mentioned that the altercation erupted because one passenger did not comply with the seat upright requirement before takeoff, causing a delay in the Bangkok-Kolkata flight. Another passenger stood up from their seat and began assaulting their fellow traveler, leading to chaos inside the aircraft.

Som also criticized the airline, questioning why the flight was allowed to proceed despite the violent altercation between passengers. He tweeted, “Instead, what does @THAISmileIndia do? They carry on with the flight while ensuring that none of the offending passengers are served alcohol. Is this a joke? You just had a serious incident where passengers go and bash each other up, and you just continue to fly?”

This mid-air scuffle video surfaced shortly after a video of a heated argument between a passenger and IndiGo staff went viral. The incident on an IndiGo Istanbul-Delhi flight was reportedly related to food choices. According to media reports, the crew intervened after a passenger exhibited ‘bad behavior’ and insulted one of the attendants, who subsequently broke down. IndiGo stated that the argument was linked to meal choices made by passengers traveling through a codeshare connection.