A frustrated pilot barricaded himself inside the cockpit and refused to take off from Mexico City’s international airport, telling passengers that the flight would depart only after he received the salary owed to him by his employers.

Addressing those on board, the pilot said, “I’m sorry, this is not something you deserve”.

He explained that he would not fly until the money he was owed was paid.

The pilot locked himself in the cockpit and was later arrested.

Passengers were evacuated from the aircraft.

The incident occurred on Friday at approximately three o’clock in the afternoon, shortly before the scheduled departure to Cancun from Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City.

In a video circulated online, the pilot told passengers that he was protesting against his employers for failing to pay him for five months.

“This plane will not take off until they pay what they owe me,” he said to the dozens of passengers on the commercial flight.

The pilot added that he had been working for the airline for nearly three years and that this was the first time he had not completed a flight.

He shared that he is a father of three children and works for the Mexican airline Magnicharters.

According to reports in Mexico, after locking himself inside the cockpit, the pilot was taken into custody once the incident concluded, and all passengers were removed from the aircraft.

Airport officials stated that the authorities are investigating the event.