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Air India has finally swung into action on the November 26, 2022 in-flight incident. The airline said it has issued show cause notices to four cabin crews and a pilot, and also de-rostered them in connection with the incident occurred on a flight bound to New Delhi from New York.
Air India’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Campbell Wilson said in a statement that an internal investigation has been initiated, including lapses by other staff in serving alcohol, handling of the incident, registering complaint on board and grievance handling.
The Tata Group-owned airline, which is at the receiving end of public ire over its delayed and inept handling of the situation, acknowledged it could have handled the matter better.
Wilson said, “Air India acknowledges that it could have handled these matters better, both in the air and on the ground and is committed to taking action.”
“We regret and are pained about these experiences.”
The incident occurred in the business class of the flight. A drunk male passenger urinated on the septugenarian female co-passenger. The airline crew did not lodge a complaint against the perpetrator after landing in New Delhi. The woman subsequently wrote a letter to the Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran about the incident.
The Tata Group took control of the debt-ridden national carrier in January last year. On completion of the transaction, Chandrasekaran had said that the group was committed making it a world-class airline. However, the recent incidents have tarnished its image.
On December 6, there was a similar incident on another Air India flight bound to New Delhi from Paris. A drunk male passenger relieved himself on the vacant seat of a female passenger while she was in the toilet. This time, however, he was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force personnel after landing in Delhi, though no charges were pressed against the offender after a settlement was reached between the two parties.
Alcohol service review
In a statement, Wilson said many steps are taken to improve the airline’s handling of such situations in the future. There would be a review of alcohol service on flights while crew members would be educated and made aware of compliance norms, with policies on handling unruly passengers and assist victims.
The airline would also review the meeting frequency of the internal committee, mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, tasked with assessing incidents on board. In December, the airline signed a letter of intent to acquire the license for an incident management software that is expected to improve its incident reporting processes that are now paper-based and manual.
Pilots and senor cabin crew members would be provided with iPads on which they can enter incident reports real time and disseminate to appropriate authorities, including the aviation regulator.
About the particular incident, Wilson said Air India engaged with the affected passenger’s family on November 30, refunded the ticket cost, and lodged a police report on December 28 after her family requested it.
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