Air India chief wants officials to check if planes at Mumbai, Delhi airports are clean

The instructions came after Lohani received a complaint about the cleanliness of the airline’s Hyderabad-Chicago flight via New Delhi.

Air India (AI) chief Ashwani Lohani has instructed senior officials of the national carrier to visit Mumbai and Delhi airports in turns at midnight for a random inspection of cleanliness and upkeep of aircrafts before their departure for international destinations.

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The instructions came after Lohani received a complaint about the cleanliness of the airline’s Hyderabad-Chicago flight via New Delhi. As part of the three-week long special exercise, which commenced on Wednesday, Lohani will visit the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Thursday to inspect all aspects of the aircraft, according to a circular issued by AI on Tuesday. The officials who have been asked to visit the airport for inspection are functional directors, executive directors as well as general managers.

“I received a complaint about the cleanliness and upkeep of flight AI 127 (of May 30). Such complaints, especially for international flights, are not acceptable. It clearly indicates lack of attention and cannot be tolerated,” Lohani said in the circular.

According to the circular, all station managers/regional managers are to personally inspect all ULR/international flights from their stations for the period up to June 18 every day “without fail”.