It seems like reckless behavior on flights is on the rise. From people engaging in physical and verbal fights to passengers behaving disrespectfully with the cabin crew, the kind of incidents that are making headlines nowadays is despicable.
However, an incident that occurred on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi has shocked Indian citizens. According to India Today, a drunk man urinated on a female passenger who was seated in business class. The woman in question is 70 years old.
The incident occurred on November 26, 2022, and it only managed to grab headlines recently. The flight where this ridiculous incident took place was Air India flight AI 102.
Right after lunch when the lights were dimmed, the accused man who was in a drunk state walked up to the woman’s seat in business class, flashed her, and then urinated on her. After finishing, he continued to stand there and left only after a co-passenger intervened. The woman’s clothes, bag and shoes were completely drenched.
That’s not all. According to NDTV, when the woman complained to the cabin crew members, they offered her Air India pyjamas and socks to change into. When she said she didn’t want to sit on her seat as it was soiled, she was offered a crew seat. However, after an hour, she was allegedly told by the crew members to return to her seat.
She saw that her seat had been covered by papers but the urine stench was still there. She asked for another seat but the crew members said that no other seat was available. So she was asked to sit on a crew seat, which she did for the next 5 hours.
There’s more to this passenger’s plight. In a letter to the group chairman of Air India, N Chandrasekaran, the woman revealed:
“At the end of the flight, the staff told me they would get me a wheelchair to ensure that I clear customs as early as possible. However, the wheelchair deposited me at a waiting area, where I waited for 30 minutes, and nobody came to get me. I finally had to clear customs on my own and collected the luggage by myself – all in Air India pyjamas and socks.”
The accused passenger, on the other hand, left the flight upon arrival without facing any action. But after the woman sent her letter, Air India finally took action and filed a police complaint against the accused man. He has also been put on Air India’s no-fly list.
It is shocking to even think of having to go through such an experience, let alone endure it. We hope appropriate action is taken against the accused.