Punched And Spat on Crew, Walked Semi-Nude: Mid-Air Drama on Vistara Flight by 'Drunk' Italian Woman

Shankar Mishra-like cases continue to mar airlines with a new incident shocking the passengers. This time the incident took place on a Vistara flight from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai when a 45-year-old ‘drunk’ Italian woman allegedly punched a cabin crew member and spat on another.

The incident took place on Monday when the flight UK 256 was on its way from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai. According to reports, the woman — Paola Perruccio — assaulted the cabin crew members over objections to her sitting in a business-class seat though she was in the economy class. When the matter escalated, she took off some of her clothes and walked up and down the aisle in a partially naked state.

On the complaint of the cabin crew on board, the woman was arrested by Sahar police after the flight landed in Mumbai in the early hours on Monday. The flight took off from Abu Dhabi at 2.03 am IST on Monday.

Sahar Police’s Version of the Incident

A report by Hindustan Times quoted an officer from Sahar police station as saying, “At around 2.30 am, the woman, who was seated in the economy class, suddenly got up, ran to the business class and took a seat there. Two members of the cabin crew approached her to enquire if she needed help. When the flier did not respond, they requested her to return to her assigned seat. At this point, she started shouting at them and made aggressive gestures, leading the crew to suspect she was abusing them.”

When crew members tried to stop the woman from misbehaving, she allegedly punched one of them in the face and spat on the other. When other crew members rushed to help their shocked colleagues, the woman began stripping.

“Much to the horror of the crew and other passengers, the woman started walking up and down the aisle without some of her clothes on. The ruckus continued for quite some time before the woman could be subdued and restrained,” the officer was further quoted.

A report in Times of India stated that in order to rein her in, the cabin crew, on the captain’s instructions, overpowered Perruccio. They got her dressed and tied her to a seat at the rear end of the flight till it landed at Mumbai international airport at around 5 am.

Police seized Perruccio’s passport and also filed a chargesheet in the case after producing her before Andheri court. She was released on bail.

“The accused has been booked for assault, other acts of interference against a crew member and endangering safety or jeopardising good order and discipline under the Aircraft Rules, 1937, along with assault and rash and negligent behaviour under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. She was produced before the court and granted bail later in the day,” Hindustan Times quoted the officer.

The TOI report quoted a Sahar police station officer as saying that the preliminary report of Perruccio’s medical examination showed she was inebriated during the journey, though the exact cause of the incident is yet to be known.

Vistara Crew Member’s Version of the Incident

The report further stated that the case was filed on a complaint from Vistara’s cabin crew member L S Khan (24), who was attacked by the flyer. They quoted Khan as saying, “Perruccio was in seat 11C in the economy class when she suddenly ran to the business class and sat on seat No. 1. She punched my face when I requested her not to sit in business class. When another cabin crew member ran to help me and told the flyer she could not misbehave on board, she spat on her.”

Khan said the matter didn’t end there. “Perruccio…removed her clothes on board and kept walking in the open space on board. The cabin crew tried to calm her and said her act was disturbing other flyers. But she continued hurling abuses. When the crew went closer, they realised Perruccio was drunk. Meanwhile, senior cabin crew member A Seth informed the flight pilot Aditya Lohar and on his instructions, the crew overpowered Perruccio and tied her to a seat at the rear end of the flight till the flight landed at 4.53am.”

Italian Woman’s Version of the Incident

The lawyer of the Italian woman passenger argued in court that she had wanted to complain about the services on the Vistara flight and a ruckus erupted with the cabin crew, the TOI report stated, adding that Perruccio was granted bail on a Rs 25,000 deposit.

The report quoted her lawyer, Prabhakar Tripathi, as saying, “Details have been submitted before the court that Perruccio wanted to complain against Vistara because of the bad services provided to her. She was going to the washroom but was not allowed. The situation arose because of an on-flight ruckus between her and the crew members which ended in a case being filed against her. The court has also been told that police have seized her passport illegally.”

Statement from Vistara

The report also quoted a Vistara spokesperson as saying, “In view of continued unruly conduct and violent behaviour, the captain issued a warning card and made a decision to restrain the customer. The pilot made regular announcements to assure the other customers on board of their safety. In accordance with the guidelines and our stringent SOPs, the security agencies on-ground were informed to take immediate action upon arrival. The incident has been reported to relevant authorities as per SOPs.”

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