Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating an incident aboard Air India in which a co-passenger peed all over a septuagenarian female passenger travelling in business class and exposed his private parts to her on a flight from New York to Delhi.
“We are seeking a report from the airline and shall take action against those found negligent, Director General of DGCA Arun Kumar said.
A senior police officer has confirmed that Delhi police will register an FIR in connection with the Air India case. The officer said that the FIR will be registered under sections pertaining to molestation and outraging a woman’s modesty.
The incident reportedly happened on November 26 on the Air India flight AI-102 from New York- JFK airport which landed in Delhi. In a written complaint, the lady passenger has said that a male passenger in a fully inebriated state walked to her seat, unzipped his pants and relieved himself and continued to expose his private parts to her.
Though the passenger was provided a pair of pyjamas, disposable slippers and a narrow crew seat, she was later returned to her seat on which the crew had merely put sheets. The passenger in her complaint said that she was not offered an alternative seat in the first class even though many seats were vacant. The drunk passenger was also able to walk off instead of being handed over to the security personnel.
A statement from Air India on the incident is awaited. Industry veterans say that the incident raises several questions about the inadequate response from the crew and that there was a failure on at least three counts. First, the crew should not have allowed the passenger to drink heavily. Secondly, the staff failed to offer the old lady another seat in the First Class and finally, they failed to act against the passenger by either restraining him onboard or reporting him to the security staff on landing at Delhi.
(With inputs from Samridhi Tiwari)