Air India on Thursday imposed a four-month flying ban on Shankar Mishra, who has been accused of urinating on an elderly passenger in a New York-New Delhi flight in November last year.
Mishra, who was arrested on January 6, is currently in jail after a Delhi court refused to grant him bail last week.
“The independent three-member internal committee under the chairmanship of the former district judge has concluded that Shankar Mishra is covered under the definition of ‘unruly passenger’ and is banned from flying for a period of 4 months as per the relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR),” an Air India spokesperson said.
“The passenger has already been put on the airline’s ‘No Fly List’. Air India has shared a copy of the internal committee report with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and will also be intimating other airlines operating in the country,” the spokesperson added.
The DGCA’s civil aviation requirement (CAR) defines an unruly passenger as one who fails to respect the rules of conduct at an airport or on board an aircraft or to follow the instructions of the airport staff or crew members and thereby, disturbs the good order and disciple at an airport or onboard an aircraft.
{{/usCountry}}The DGCA’s civil aviation requirement (CAR) defines an unruly passenger as one who fails to respect the rules of conduct at an airport or on board an aircraft or to follow the instructions of the airport staff or crew members and thereby, disturbs the good order and disciple at an airport or onboard an aircraft.
{{/usCountry}}Mishra was travelling from New York to New Delhi on November 26 in the business class of an Air India flight when he allegedly urinated on an elderly woman co-passenger. In the aftermath, the crew allegedly did not act promptly enough to make the situation comfortable for the latter, the victim alleged.
An FIR was registered against Mishra on the basis of a complaint by the woman in Delhi on January 4 and he was arrested from Bengaluru two days later.
In its report, seen by HT, the internal committee of the airline said it arrived at “an irresistible conclusion that the allegations made against the respondent-passenger in the proforma for reporting of unruly/disruptive passenger... stand established and accordingly, the committee holds that the respondent-passenger Shri Shankar Shyamnaval Mishra is squarely covered under the definition of ‘unruly passenger’ as defined in paragraph 3.1 of the CAR. The respondent-passenger Shri Shankar Shyamnaval Mishra is accordingly put in ‘NO Fly List’.”
“..Keeping in view all the facts and circumstances discussed above, he is banned from flying for a period of four months as provided in Level 2 of paragraph 8.1 of the CAR from the date of this report. We may again make it very clear that the above findings recorded by this committee are limited to-the present inquiry proceedings only and shall not be taken as expression of any opinion on the merits of the criminal case or any other independent proceedings,” it added.
On January 7, Tata Group-owned Air India CEO Campbell Wilson apologised and said four cabin crew and a pilot had been de-rostered in the wake of the incident.
The DGCA termed Air India’s conduct “devoid of empathy” and issued the airline a show cause notice for not reporting the November 26 incident as well as one in which a drunk passenger smoked near the lavatory in violation of aviation rules.