Passenger Who Had Mid-Flight Panic Attack Found Safe After Going Missing; Man Who Slapped Him Barred from Flying

The man who suffered a panic attack mid-flight and was then slapped by a fellow passenger has been found safe, a day after his disappearance caused panic among his family.

Hossain Ahmed Majumder was flying from Mumbai to Silchar, with a layover in Kolkata. While he landed in Kolkata as scheduled, he never boarded the connecting flight to Silchar, where his wife and relatives had been waiting to receive him on Friday afternoon. Instead, he took a train without informing anyone and was eventually located on Saturday evening at Barpeta railway station in Assam. It remains unclear why he wasn’t answering calls or informing his family about the change in plans.

The co-passenger who slapped Majumder during the Mumbai-Kolkata flight was identified as Hafijul Rahaman. According to police, Rahaman claimed he did not know Majumder but slapped him because he was “causing trouble.” At the time, Majumder was reportedly experiencing a panic attack and was being attended to by the cabin crew.

In response to the incident, IndiGo Airlines barred Rahaman from flying on its services for 30 days pending an internal investigation. A further decision could follow under India’s no-fly list regulations for unruly passengers, *The Times of India* reported.

As of now, the ban applies only to IndiGo. Other airlines will individually decide whether to place Rahaman on their own no-fly lists. Depending on the outcome of the inquiry and any legal proceedings, he could also be added to the national no-fly list.

The Bidhannagar police in Kolkata confirmed receiving a complaint from IndiGo about a “heated altercation” between two passengers. Rahaman was handed over to the police upon landing after the airline marked him as an unruly passenger. He was later released, but further legal action remains under consideration.