July 13, 2017
While it may seem that politicians in our country can get away with even murder, it was a pleasant surprise when Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy was banned from boarding the IndiGo airlines after alleged unruly behavior.
July 13, 2017
While it may seem that politicians in our country can get away with even murder, it was a pleasant surprise when Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy was banned from boarding the IndiGo airlines after alleged unruly behavior.
Reddy showed up half an hour before the scheduled departure of his flight and the check-in counter was closed 45 minutes prior to departure as per policy. When he was informed that the boarding was closed, he got into a verbal spat with the ground staff and even threw a printer kept at the staffs’ desk in a fit of rage.
This is not the first time Reddy got embroiled with the airport authorities. Last year, he had vandalized Air India office at Gannavaram airport in Vijaywada when he missed his flight.
Air staff and hostesses are often on the receiving end, and not with just the elites. A few of them reveal to us the horrible passenger behaviors they have faced.
“One of the worst behaviors that I’ve faced over the years, is when a passenger kept asking me for drinks repeatedly, and he only asked me. When I got busy with some other work, I told him “Give me minute, I’ll just be back”. But, he suddenly started shouting at me for no reason. He then made a huge scene of the situation, and also lied in front of everyone saying that I refused to get him coke. I couldn’t believe it, I had tears in my eyes, being humiliated like that.” says an air hostess, who wants her identity to remain confidential
“It had happened to a friend of mine who suffered a terrible ordeal. While doing the mandatory safety drill a passenger kept pulling her skirt every time she used to bend down. She could not stop the drill as it was the safety drill, which by policy shouldn’t be interrupted. But when she told the passenger to stop, he threw water at her. Another recurring problem is when passengers deliberately drop stuff on the floor so they can take photos of us while bending,”says Anisha Chawal fromGo Air
“It’s a common sight when passengers misbehave with air hostesses. The worst behavior that I’ve faced is when a passenger directly asked me to accompany him to the washroom. I felt disgusted, one of the cheapest things ever!” says Monika Thakur from Indigo.
“I think one of the worst experiences I ever had was when a passenger got really drunk and got physical with me. He would not stop touching me, despite being told to stop repeatedly. The crew had to physically refrain him. Once he was calm, he was deported and was put on the no fly list forever,” says an air hostess on the condition of anonymity.
“I was busy serving the passenger’s row wise. Since I had nothing left in my kart, I had to collect F&B from the other crew as per passenger demand. One passenger suddenly started calling me. I informed her that I am serving row wise and I will get back to her in a while. When I came to her, I realized that missed out on a passenger seated on 15th row,which was a lady with a child who had the meal pre-booked. The other lady, who I had previously informed to wait suddenly started shouting and said why the h**l are we not serving her? She then said that she had been asking for a glass of water ever since she boarded (she never mentioned that to us). She was so loud that everyone could hear her. Then she went on to call me a ‘sales girl’ and called me cheap. When a colleague of mine came to collect few refreshments from me and I requested her to serve the lady with the child first. That lady commented again and now said that I am not serving her because she is not in my row. I couldn’t believe what was going on. I went to that lady and served her water and apologized to her and I told her that I don’t have any personal grudge towards her. I also said that I was just doing my job and following the rules. In response she told me to f**k off and then looked at the window. I was shocked for a moment. The lady sitting next to her said that it’s alright, you can continue. Again that lady commented and asked the lady sitting next to her why was she entertaining a cheap girl like me. That is when I lost it. Since I couldn’t be rude to her, I told her that the way she was talking to me was unacceptable. I told her that her behaviour reflects her upbringing. And finally with a smile on my face, I said if you wish to eat or drink anything, please let me know, it will be a pleasure and walked off. As soon as I reached my galley I started crying. A few female passengers came and comforted me. They even wrote an appreciation letter for me,” reveals another air hostess from IndiGo.
