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In another incident of unruly passenger behavior during a flight, a man allegedly slapped and verbally abused a senior Air India official on its Sydney-Delhi flight, the airline said Saturday. The incident was detected when the official, who was downgraded from business to economy class due to a seat malfunction, tried to address the passenger’s loud voice, according to reports.
Despite the physical assault, the Air India cabin crew refrained from using restraint devices to control the rowdy passenger, according to reports.
An Air India spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement and said, “One of the passengers on board AI-301 operating from Sydney-Delhi on 9 July 2023, behaved in an unacceptable manner during the flight, despite oral and written warnings, causing concern to others. passengers, including one of our employees.”
“On landing safely in Delhi, the passenger was handed over to the security agency, and the passenger subsequently apologized in writing,” the airline said.
Air India said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had been “duly informed” and was taking a “firm stand against misconduct threatening the safety, security or dignity” of its customers and staff.
“We will pursue this to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.
As per the source, the Air India official was initially assigned seat 30-C, but since there were other passengers, he opted to shift to seat 25 ABC. The official allegedly began correcting his loud voice to the accompanying passenger, which led to the passenger slapping him, twisting his head, and swearing at him.
As the five young cabin crew members could not handle the rowdy passenger, the Air India official moved towards the back seats.
“This rowdy passenger was playing with emergency equipment and walking freely in the kitchen,” the source claimed.
According to the source, the male cabin supervisor was called and “a verbal and written warning was issued to the passenger.”
The incident is the latest in a series of reported violent behavior by passengers on flights operated by India.
On an Air India Delhi-London flight on April 10, a passenger identified as 25-year-old Jaskirat Singh Bada from Punjab caused bodily harm to two cabin crew, and Air India imposed a two-year flight ban on that person. Delhi Police registered a case against the passenger based on a complaint filed by Air India’s Cabin Crew Supervisor.
In May, during an Air India flight from Goa, a passenger reportedly assaulted a crew member. On landing at Delhi airport, the naughty passenger was handed over to the security personnel.
Under DGCA regulations, a disobedient air traveler can face a flight ban of varying lengths.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation classifies unruly passenger behavior into three levels. Level 1 includes unruly behavior such as physical gestures, verbal harassment, and poisoning. Level 2 involves physically abusive behavior such as pushing, kicking, or sexual harassment. Level 3 relates to life-threatening actions such as damaging aircraft operating systems, engaging in physical violence such as choking, or committing fatal assault.
The duration of the flight ban for an unruly passenger is determined by an internal committee set up by the respective airline, depending on the level of the unruly behaviour.
(with input from PTI)
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