A passenger of an Air India flight has been put on no-fly list for a month for allegedly urinating on a co-passenger while the aircraft was on air on Wednesday, April 9, an incident the airliner also confirmed.
The man who was urinated upon in the Air India Delhi-Bangkok flight AI2336 has been identified as Hiroshi Yashizane, the managing director of Bridgestone India.
The accused, Tushar Masand, was sitting on 2D seat in the flight. Tushar Masand was put on Air India's no-fly list, however, the final decision will be taken by the airline once its independent committee completes the investigation.
The precise circumstances around the incident are still unclear. People familiar with the incident said the passenger who urinated, was also flying business class, immediately apologised for his behaviour.
What did Air India say
Air India confirmed the incident of “unruly passenger behaviour” and said the cabin crew followed all laid down procedures, and that the matter has been reported to the authorities.
"In addition to warning the unruly passenger, our crew offered to assist an aggrieved passenger to take up a grievance with authorities in Bangkok, which was declined at the time. The standing Independent Committee will be convened to assess the incident and determine the action, if any, to be taken against the unruly passenger. Air India continues to follow the SOPs as laid out by DGCA in such matters,” an Air India spokesperson said.
{{/usCountry}}"In addition to warning the unruly passenger, our crew offered to assist an aggrieved passenger to take up a grievance with authorities in Bangkok, which was declined at the time. The standing Independent Committee will be convened to assess the incident and determine the action, if any, to be taken against the unruly passenger. Air India continues to follow the SOPs as laid out by DGCA in such matters,” an Air India spokesperson said.
{{/usCountry}}According to a person familiar with the incident, it took place during descent when the passenger on seat 2D urinated on the co-passenger sitting on seat 1D. “The cabin crew learnt about the matter from the passenger sitting on 1D ,” the person said.
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The passenger seated on 2D was immediately relocated to another seat and given a warning while the crew helped the aggrieved passenger.
In 2023, at least two incidents of a passenger urinating on a fellow passenger in Air India flights had come to light.
An inebriated man allegedly urinated on his female co-passenger in the business class of the airline's New York-New Delhi flight on November 26, 2022.
In another incident that happened on December 6, 2022, a drunk passenger allegedly urinated on the blanket of a female passenger in the carrier's Paris-New Delhi flight.