Air India sees another ‘mid-air peeing’ incident

There seems to be no end to troubles for Air India when it comes to bad publicity. Just a day after an embarrassing incident — that happened last month — was reported, in which a 'drunk' passenger was accused of urinating on a woman co-passenger, another episode of a male passenger, who was also in an inebriated condition, peeing on the blanket of a woman, has come to light. Air India has not issued any official clarification on the matter so far.

The incident allegedly happened on Air India's Paris-Delhi flight 142 on December 6, 2022, around 10 days after the November 26 episode, but no action was taken against the accused after he gave a written apology, a news agency reported. The male passenger was reportedly detained for interrogation at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport after a complaint was lodged with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) by the airline crew. He was, however, released after he apologised to the woman and she refused to file an FIR.

As the incident happened on the flight, the crew complained to the ATC that the accused was under the influence of alcohol and that he peed on the blanket of a woman co-passenger. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel apprehended him as soon as the flight landed in Delhi but let him go after "mutual compromise" as he gave a written apology to the woman. In this case, the woman reportedly refused to file a case against the accused, after which he was allowed to leave the airport.

The incident comes a day after it was reported that a man, in an inebriated condition, urinated on a female co-passenger in the business class of a New York-Delhi flight on November 26, 2022. Despite causing major harassment to the woman, and thus committing a crime, no immediate action was allegedly taken against the accused. However, weeks after the incident, Air India filed a complaint against the accused and also formed a committee to look into the matter.

The victim woman, who's in her 70s, also claims to have written a letter to the Tata Sons chief, describing her ordeal and the poor handling of the incident by Air India staff, following which the airline formed a committee to look into the matter.

Air India's internal committee has, for now, suggested putting the accused on a "no-fly list" for the next 30 days or until the final decision is taken in the case. The aviation regulator has also sought an action-taken report from the Tata-owned carrier.

Recently, a video of some Indian passengers indulging in a scuffle on a Thai Smile Airway flight also went viral on social media. The fight broke out after a passenger refused to adjust his seat to an upright position, as part of the flight safety protocol. Despite the crew repeatedly telling the passenger to adjust his seat, he refused. Following this, another passenger got into an argument with him, which later led to a major scuffle. In the video, five to six passengers were seen hitting the said passenger after the verbal spat.