Passengers Stand Around With Overhead Bins Open While Plane Taxis—Airline Claims Safety Is Its “Highest Priority”

Passengers are standing in the aisle and overhead bins are open while an Air India Express jet taxis, and the crew reportedly says nothing – though the airline says safety is its highest priority. The scene looks like passengers getting ready to leave just after landing. This was reportedly Air India Express flight IX1236 which means either Pune to Indore or Indore to Delhi. It doesn’t seem like the plane had more passengers than seats, though we’ve seen that before (including on Delta). Passengers are standing and flight running, what a safety standard of @AirIndiaX flight IX 1236 — Amitava Das (@Amitava35877067) September 21, 2026 Air India Express offered regret, saying that “safety remains our highest priority.” They said their operations comply with applicable procedures and regulations, and that crew are trained to follow safety protocols and handle situations onboard. Except… they weren’t doing that? One commenter defended the airline, saying crew frequently keep making announcements and passengers don’t listen. Except here the claim is, Unfortunately no crew members announce anything,and suddenly flight start running This looks to me like arrival, not departure, standing in the aisles with open overhead bins to get their belongings. This isn’t supposed to happen – the plane might stop suddenly and jolt passengers into each other and bags in the bins might go flying. Now, I’ve defended standing up once the plane is parked and the seatbelt sign is off. Getting bags ready can speed up deplaning. Moving into the aisle gives the middle seat passenger more room. After hours in a cramped seat, stretching is reasonable! But that’s only supposed to happen once the seat belt sign is turned off. And there are times where airlines really depart with more passengers than seats. Pakistan International Airlines I wrote about 416 passengers on a Boeing 777 with capacity for 409 flying from Karachi to Medina. Seven passengers traveled standing. The captain said he learned about the extra passengers only after takeoff and cited the fuel dumping needed to return as a reason for continuing. TUI An aircraft swap left a family assigned seats 41D, 41E and 41F that didn’t exist. Their daughter got the remaining passenger seat and the parents used crew seats for takeoff. The parents were then moved to the floor when crew needed the space, and their daughter joined them. El Al Passengers occupied jumpseats and the floor on a Bangkok – Tel Aviv flight in the unusual circumstance where Israelis were desperately trying to get home following the October 7 attacks. Delta from Charleston to Atlanta pushed back with 182 passengers on a 180-seat Boeing 737-900. The airline confirmed that two employee standby travelers lacked appropriate seat assignments. The plane returned before reaching an active taxiway, had them get off, and still operated on time. El Al did it intentionally in wartime. Delta caught the mistake. Air India here joins the illustrious company of TUI and Pakistan International Airlines (arguably the worst airline in the world) in not seeing seats or seat belts as necessary during flight. Topics on this page