A shocking incident has come to the fore wherein, an inebriated passenger exposed himself and urinated on a female co-passenger on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi.
The incident took place on November 26 of last year when AI flight 102 was on its way from JFK to Delhi. The female, a senior citizen in her 70s was seated in the business class aisle when the man walked up to her seat, unzipped his pants, and urinated on her. It was at a time when the lights inside the flight were dimmed post-meal service.
Following the incident, the elderly woman alerted the cabin crew, however, no action was taken against the man who walked scot-free after the flight landed in Delhi, a report by TOI claimed.
A probe into the matter was initiated by the airlines only after the woman sent a letter to N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group which had acquired Air India in January of 2022.
In a letter to the chairman, the woman voiced her concerns regarding the inactivity of the cabin crew in apprehending the accused. She wrote that the airline crew was not proactive in dealing with the traumatic situation and no relief was provided. She also mentioned that she has to advocate for herself as the airline made no attempt to ensure her safety or comfort during the incident.
Recalling the day, she went on to say how she was too shocked to react after the disgraceful incident and how the accused continued to stand by her seat post urinating and was only chased away after one of her co-passengers asked him to leave.
“My clothes, shoes, and bag were completely soaked in urine. The stewardess followed me to the seat, verified that it smelled of urine, and sprayed disinfectant on my bag and shoes. The bag contained my passport, travel documents, and currency, among other items,” the letter read quoting the woman.
Even though the woman was handed a set of Pyjamas and disposable slippers to change into, she kept standing near the toilet for over 20 minutes until she was allotted the narrow crew seat, where she sat for an hour and was then told to return to her seat.
“Although the staff had put sheets on top, the area was still damp and reeking of urine,” the woman said in her letter to the Tata group.
Although she was given a crew seat where she sat for the rest of the flight after 2 hours, she was later informed by a fellow co-passenger that several seats in the first class were vacant, and yet none of them were allotted to her by the crew, a report by TOI noted.
Talking to TOI, a senior airline commander said while acknowledging the mishap said that in such a situation as the old woman was put through, the cabin crew should have followed the company procedures, informed the pilot, isolated this unruly passenger, and handed him over to security on landing. He also added that the cabin crew should also have moved the woman passenger to a clean seat, either in business class or first class.
Meanwhile, commenting on the issues Air India has assured that they have constituted an internal committee in this incident and have recommended putting the male passenger on the ‘no-fly list’. The matter is under a government committee and a decision is awaited.
An FIR has also been filed on part of Air India with the Delhi Police on December 28.
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