In a surprising incident, the national anthem played on the plane’s PA when it was about to land with all passengers strapped in. The incident happened on a SpiceJet flight from Tirupati to Hyderabad.
Do the passengers stand up to show respect, or remain strapped in as per flight rules? This unlikeliest of dilemmas did play out, prompting a passenger to file a complaint with the airline.
According to a Times of India report, the national anthem was played by the cabin crew, minutes before the landing. The passengers and cabin crew were not in a position to stand up and accord it due respect.
The complainant – Puneet Tiwari, reportedly said that everybody was surprised when the national anthem was played and that they were forced to sit as the pilot had directed everyone to keep their seat belt on.
Surprisingly, one of the cabin crew members switched off the music system in the middle of the anthem and later switched it on again, the report suggested. A passenger who made the video of the incident, claimed that he was deeply hurt by the manner in which SpiceJet was indifferent towards the incident.
SpiceJet has reportedly claimed that the anthem wasn’t played deliberately. “The crew selected the wrong number on the playlist and the National Anthem started playing. Immediately, the same was stopped,” said the airlines.
Tiwari said a complaint was lodged with the airlines crew, who claimed that they were not in a position to do anything about it as the national anthem was uploaded in the system.
