A youth locked himself up in an aircraft toilet and possibly suffered a nervous breakdown minutes before take-off, sending securitymen into a tizzy and forcing the pilot to bring the flight back to the parking bay.

“The passenger who inadvertently caused the disruption boarded the Delhi-bound Jetlite flight with his elderly parents,” an airport official said.

“He was not a first-time flier. But when he emerged from the toilet, he was found to be unstable. He appeared to be very nervous,” he added.

An anti-hijack team was rushed to the aircraft, only to encounter a frightened flier.

The trio were offloaded after airport doctors advised the 23-year-old not to fly. The aircraft with 173 passengers finally took off around 4pm, an hour behind schedule.

An airline official said the passenger complained of vertigo and nausea while being taken to the airport’s medical unit. “Doctors suspect he was suffering from aerophobia (fear of flying) and acrophobia (fear of heights),” he said.

The crew was startled to find the youth’s seat empty while the announcement was being made around 3pm for passengers to fasten their seat belts.

On learning from his parents that he had gone to the toilet, an airhostess repeatedly knocked on the door, but there was no response.

The pilot was then forced to take the aircraft back to the parking bay as aviation rules state that all passengers must be in their seats, with the belts fastened, before take-off.

The airport authorities alerted the Central Industrial Security Force and an anti-hijack team reached the aircraft in a flash.

The youth’s parents, who had by then realised that the flight could not take off because of their son, walked up to the crew members and offered help.

Airline officials said the youth was finally coaxed out of the toilet by his father, who spoke to him gently through the door. The armed anti-hijack squad kept a close watch till the three passengers left the aircraft and things returned to normal.