A passenger taking a flight from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday accused an Air India Express pilot of assaulting him during an altercation in the security check area.

On Saturday, Air India Express expressed regret for the incident and said that the pilot, identified as Virender Sejwal, had been removed from duty pending an internal investigation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that it had directed the airline to ground the pilot with immediate effect.

In a social media post, the passenger, Ankit Dewan, alleged that the incident had taken place at Terminal 1 of the airport while he was travelling with his family, which included a four-month-old baby in a stroller.

They were travelling for a holiday on a SpiceJet flight.

Dewan said that the airport staff had directed his family to use the security check area meant for staff and persons with reduced mobility because they were travelling with an infant.

“The staff was cutting the queue ahead of me,” he said on social media. “On calling them out, Captain Virender, who himself was doing the same thing, asked me if I was anpadh (uneducated), and couldn’t read the signs that said this entry was for staff.”

An argument broke out, he added.

“Not able to exercise restraint, the AIX [Air India Express] pilot proceeded to physically assault me, leaving me bloody,” Dewan said.

Sharing a video of the alleged incident in another post, Dewan claimed that his wife had heard Sejwal telling the Central Industrial Security Force personnel about hitting him. However, no action was taken, he added.

He also alleged a delay in receiving medical aid.

“I have no clue how Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air India Express can allow such pilots to fly,” Dewan said. “If they cannot keep their cool in a scuffle, can they be trusted with the lives of hundreds of people in the sky?”

He also asked how the Delhi airport could get away with such “mismanagement, combining staff entry with passengers carrying infants, creating chaos at a sensitive security area”.

On Saturday, Air India Express said that it regretted the “incident at Delhi Airport, involving one of our employees who was traveling as a passenger on another airline”.

“We extend our heartfelt empathy for the distress it has caused, and strongly condemn such behaviour,” the airline stated. “The concerned employee has been removed from official duties with immediate effect, and appropriate action will be taken pending thorough investigation.”

It added: “We remain fully committed to provide due cooperation to law enforcement authorities to ensure a fair and thorough process.”

Later in the day, the civil aviation ministry also said that it had taken “serious cognisance of the incident and directed the airline to ground the pilot with immediate effect”.

The ministry added that a formal enquiry had also been ordered and detailed reports sought from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the Central Industrial Security Force.