Pic: EdexLive
Pic: EdexLive

#WhatTheFAQ: Why is air travel in India making headlines these days?

The last two weeks have witnessed several mid-air instances that have shocked passengers, crew members and citizens, in general. Let's look at some of these

In a shocking incident, an inebriated man allegedly urinated on a female co-passenger, a senior citizen in her seventies, in the business class of Air India New York-New Delhi flight on November 26, 2022. Following the incident, social media was abuzz with people reacting not just to the incident but also to the way the Air India crew handled it and what they thought was the right form of punishment.

What was surprising was that this was not the end of it. The last two weeks have seen multiple such instances that happened on flights come to light. Today's FAQ will look at these and how the civil aviation authorities are handling it.

What were some other recent instances of unruly behaviour mid-flight?

December 6, 2022

Barely a week after the aforementioned incident, on December 6, a drunk man had allegedly urinated on the blanket of a female passenger on a Paris-Delhi Air India flight.

The pilot of the aircraft reported the matter to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport about it, however, no action was taken as the male passenger gave a written apology, officials told PTI. They added that airport security was informed that the male passenger was, "under the influence of alcohol and he was not following the instructions of the cabin crew and he later peed on a blanket of an onboard lady passenger".

December 16, 2022

It's not just Air India though. An IndiGo passenger and an air hostess were involved in a heated exchange over the choice of meals onboard a flight from Istanbul to Delhi on December 16, videos of which went viral. "My crew is crying because of you," the IndiGo air hostess was heard telling the passenger in the viral video. The passenger is also heard telling her, "You are a servant of a passenger", to which she responded, "I am an employee and not your servant. I am not your servant," a report by The New Indian Express stated.

January 8, 2023

On January 8, a female passenger took to Twitter saying she found a stone in her in-flight meal onboard AI 215 and also shared pictures. The flight was from Delhi to Kathmandu. Responding to the tweet, Air India tweeted saying, "this is concerning and we're taking this up immediately with our catering team."

January 9, 2023

The civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show cause notice to GO First (which was earlier called GO Air) airline for leaving behind 55 passengers with boarding cards in a coach at Bengaluru airport on January 9.

The passengers were waiting in the passenger coach on the tarmac when they realised that the aircraft had taken off without them, a report by TNIE stated.

January 11, 2023

On January 11, a 39-year-old drunken man was arrested for allegedly urinating on a gate in the departure area of terminal three at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

How did passengers and crew members react?

In light of such incidents, furious passengers and former crew members took to Twitter to call out the unruly behaviour as well as mismanagement on the part of the airlines involved.

"Drunk passenger urinated on a woman on an #AirIndia flight. The route New York to NEW DELHI. Explains a lot. Worst is action taken on the man only after the lady wrote to the TATA Group chairperson. And that too a mere 30 day ban on him from their airline. Shocking apathy to act," said Sangita, a writer on Twitter.

A few also questioned the 30-day flying ban on the accused in the Air India peeing incident in November. "For mocking Arnab Goswami on an IndiGo flight, @kunalkamra88 got a six months flying ban. And for peeing on lady on Air India flight, pisser gets a 30 day ban", said Harmeet Kaur, an activist on Twitter.  In fact, others also said that Indians are some of the worst passengers on flights — getting drunk, engaging in brawls and so on.

What is the policy regarding serving alcohol on flights?

Apart from issuing show cause notices to the airlines involved, the DGCA has also sought a report based on an internal probe from Air India. Meanwhile, reports also pointed out that Air India is reviewing its policy of serving alcohol on flights. According to a rule set by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 1937, no airline is allowed to serve liquor on domestic flights. However, when it comes to international flights, each airline has its own policy with regard to serving alcohol.

What action is being taken against the accused?

Observing that the act is sufficient to outrage the modesty of any woman, a Delhi Court on Wednesday, January 11 refused to grant bail to Shankar Mishra, the man who was arrested for allegedly peeing on a co-passenger in an inebriated state on board in November last year, a report by TNIE stated.

Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg noted that the alleged act of relieving himself on the flight under the influence of alcohol shocked ‘civic consciousness’ and it is ‘utterly disgusting and repulsive'. “Egregious conduct of the accused has shocked the civic consciousness and needs to be deprecated,” the judge said.

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