Midair scare as flyer enters cockpit code

VARANASI/NEW DELHI: A hijack scare gripped an Air India Express flight from Bengaluru to Varanasi Monday after a man tried to unlock the cockpit door mid-air by entering random digits on its keypad, triggering a security buzzer inside the flight deck.

Cabin crew confronted the passenger, identified as Mani R, who claimed he was a first-time flyer looking for the lavatory. He returned to his seat, but the move prompted the captain of Flight IX-1086, a Boeing 737, to alert Varanasi ATC.