Air India didn't report second peeing incident to DGCA; notice issued

This happened on Dec 6 when a male passenger urinated on a vacant seat and blanket of a female co-passenger

Air India did not report a second peeing incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) when a male passenger urinated on a vacant seat and the blanket of a female co-passenger on a Paris-Delhi flight on December 6, 2022.

After the incident came to light, the regulator asked for a report on January 5.

This is in violation of the DGCA rules, under which an airline has to inform the regulator about any incident of passenger misconduct within 12 hours of the aircraft’s landing.

The regulator has issued a show cause notice to Air India’s accountable manager. Air India’s response to the December 6 incident was “lackadaisical and delayed,” the DGCA noted.

The first peeing incident had taken place on Air India’s New York-Delhi flight on November 26 when passenger Shankar Mishra, who was then a vice-president at Wells Fargo, urinated on a female passenger.

The DGCA said that the first incident was brought to its notice only on January 4. 

The DGCA termed Air India’s handling of the first incident as “unprofessional”, “devoid of empathy” and in violation of its rules.

Mishra was arrested on January 7 by the Delhi Police in Bengaluru.

The second peeing incident took place on the Paris-Delhi flight on December 6, the DGCA’s statement said.

In the same flight, another passenger — who was drunk — was caught smoking in the lavatory and he was not listening to the cabin crew, the regulator said.

“Air India didn’t report the (Paris-Delhi) incident until the DGCA sought a report from it on January 5. After perusal of the reply submitted by Air India through an email dated January 6, 2023, prima facie it emerges that provisions related to handling of unruly passengers have not been complied with,” the regulator noted.

Therefore, the regulator has issued a show cause notice to Air India’s accountable manager.

It said, “Why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations.”

The regulator has given two weeks to the airline’s accountable manager to submit a reply.

According to the DGCA’s 2017 rules, unruly behaviour has been categorised under three levels.

Level 1 includes physical gestures, verbal harassment, and unruly inebriation, under which the airline can ban a passenger from flying for up to three months. Level 2 includes physically abusive behaviour like pushing, hitting, kicking or sexual harassment, under which the airline can ban a passenger for up to six months.

Level 3 incidents include life-threatening behaviour such as causing damage to aircraft operating systems, and murderous assault, among others, under which the ban can be imposed for two years and above.

According to the rules, the pilot is required to relay the onboard incident to the airline’s control room. A diversion, too, can be carried out, if required, and upon landing a police case can be lodged.

Air India’s response to the November 26 incident should have been “much swifter”, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran had said on Sunday.

“We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should have been,” he said.

The Tata Group and Air India stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew with full conviction, he noted.

“We will review and repair every process to prevent or address any incident of such unruly nature,” Chandrasekaran had added.