Exclusive: Air India's senior official assaulted by ‘unruly passenger’ on Sydney-New Delhi flight
The Air India spokesperson told HT that the aviation regulator DGCA was informed about the July 9 incident. However, no action was taken against the passenger.
An Air India senior management official was allegedly assaulted by an unruly passenger on a flight back to New Delhi from Sydney on July 9. “The airline’s head of inflight services department, Sandeep Verma, who was flying from Sydney to Delhi on AI 301 was hit by a Delhi-based passenger. However, no action was taken against him,” an official close to the matter told HT.
The Air India spokesperson told HT that the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was informed about the matter.
“A passenger on board AI301 operating Sydney-Delhi on 9 July 2023 behaved in an unacceptable manner during flight, despite verbal and written warnings, causing distress to other passengers, which included one of our employees,” the airline spokesperson told HT.
Also Read: Air India passenger assaults crew member onboard Goa-Delhi flight
“Upon the flight’s safe landing at Delhi, the passenger was handed over to the security agency, and the passenger later apologised in writing. The DGCA was duly informed of the incident. Air India will take a firm stand against misbehaviour. We will pursue this to the full extent of the law," the spokesperson added.
The DGCA, however, did not confirm if it was informed of Verma being assaulted on board a flight.
The incident took place when Verma, who is a frequent flier to Australia, booked a business class seat for his travel back to New Delhi. He, however, was not able to use the business class seat as a couple of them were defunctive.
He, therefore, had to be downgraded to the economy class.
“Verma accepted the downgrade and was then allotted seat 30C. He, however, later moved to row 25 since it was vacant. After shifting, Verma began correcting his co-passenger (who was freely walking around in the galley and also picked up a few alcohol bottles for no reason) and had a loud voice. This is when the passenger slapped Verma and twisted his head and abused him,” the official added.
Verma, officials said, rushed to the rear side of the plane but five female crew of the economy class could not contain the rowdy passenger. “The male cabin supervisor from the business class had to be called in to control the situation. The passenger was issued a verbal and a written warning after which the situation was brought under control,” a second official in the know of the incident said.
Also Read: Passenger arrested for smoking on flight
“The crew did not use restraining devices (that are available onboard flights operating on Australian sector) on the request of Verma and no police complaint was filed,” the second official confirmed.
“This incident brings to light the precarious situation of mishandling in the airline with respect to unruly passengers,” a former airline official said.
“If the airline could take strict action against all the previous passengers despite getting written apologies from them, then they should have ensured strict action against this passenger too,” the official added.
A second former official said, "The airline should set examples of zero tolerance towards such matters. However, this case highlights just the opposite. They are sending poor message to travellers by not taking action against an unruly passenger who assaulted their senior management."
One unruly passenger incident for every 568 flights in 2022
As per the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s latest analysis, there was one unruly passenger incident for every 568 flights in 2022, much higher than 2021, when one incident was reported every 835 flights.
The IATA represents around 300 airlines comprising 83 per cent of the global air traffic. It says that the common type of unruly passenger was non-compliant, verbally abusive, and intoxicated. The international body said it saw a 61 per cent rise in physical abuse incidents in 2022 compared to 2021, with one such incident occurring once every 17,200 flights.
Who is an unruly passenger?
Someone 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 discipline.
What’s the procedure to deal with such a passenger?
> Informing the pilot
Cabin crew informs the pilot and isolates the unruly passenger
> Alerting the ground staff
The pilot informs the ground staff and the unruly passenger is handed over to the airline’s security team after landing
> Filing an FIR
The airline hands over the passenger to the local police and files an FIR
> Forming an internal committee
The pilot files a report on the incident after which an internal committee is constituted to investigate the case
> How is unruly behaviour categorized?
Level 1: Disruptive behaviour (physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation.)
Level 2: Physically abusive behaviour (pushing, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment,
Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour (damage to aircraft operating system, murderous assault, etc.)
Punishment for unruly behaviour as per DGCA
Apart from taking action under the appropriate law, an unruly passenger can be put on the no-fly list for a period depending on the level of offence
Level 1: Up to three months.
Level 2: Up to six months.
Level 3: For a minimum period of 2 years or more without limit.
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