JANUARY 8, 2023
Tata Sons, chairman N Chandrasekaran on Sunday reacted to incident of a drunk passenger allegedly urinating on a woman on one of its international flights last year, calling it a “matter of personal anguish to me and my colleagues at Air India.”
“Incident on Air India flight AI102 on 26 Nov 2022, has been a matter of personal anguish to me and my colleagues at Air India. Air India’s response should’ve been much swifter. We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should’ve been,” Chandrasekaran said, news agency ANI reported.
He added that the Tata Group and Air India stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew with full conviction.
“We will review and repair every process to prevent or address any incidents of such unruly nature,” Chandrasekaran added.
On November 26, an inebriated male passenger exposed himself and urinated on a 70-year-old woman on an Air India flight between New York and Mumbai. The obnoxious act occurred in the carrier’s business class and the man was let go without any repercussions. The matter came to light only a month later when the media picked it up.
Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that Air India’s conduct in handling the incident was “unprofessional” and it has issued show cause notices to the airline, its director of in-flight services and the crew that operated the flight.
The women in a letter to Chandrasekaran alleged that a drunk co-passenger had urinated on her and exposed himself.
She said: “My clothes, shoes, and bag were soaked in urine. The stewardess followed me to the seat, verified that it smelled of urine, and sprayed disinfectant on my bag and shoes. The bag included my passport, travel documents, and currency, and I wanted to immediately check the safety of the contents. I asked the stewardess to help me retrieve my bag, but she initially refused to touch it and told me to pick up my shoes and clean them in the bathroom.”
Meanwhile, a Delhi court Saturday sent Shankar Mishra, the accused to 14 days in judicial custody.
Courtesy/Source: Indian Express
