‘Unruly’ passenger assaults Air India official during flight from Sydney to Delhi

New Delhi, July 15:  An Air India senior official was reportedly assaulted by a ‘unruly’ passenger during a Sydney-Delhi flight that took place on July 9.

The name of the official is believed to be Sandeep Verma, however the Air India has not yet confirmed the name of the official.

According to Air India’s statement, a passenger aboard flight AI301, which was operating from Sydney to Delhi on July 9, displayed unacceptable behavior despite receiving verbal and written warnings. This behavior caused distress to other passengers, including one of Air India’s employees.

Upon the flight’s safe arrival in Delhi, the passenger was handed over to the security agency, and they later issued a written apology. The incident was duly reported to the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), as stated by the spokesperson.

The spokesperson also emphasised Air India’s commitment to taking a strong stance against misbehavior, stating that they would pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law.

The incident comes few days after an FIR was registered against a Nepal national for abusing a cabin crew member onboard and breaking the lavatory door inside the Air India flight A-188 after taking off from Toronto

According to the FIR, the complainant Aditya Kumar, cabin crew member said that the passenger, Mahesh Singh Pandi, a resident of Nepal, changed his seat from 26 E to 26 F and he started abusing the economy class crew.

“So we informed the PIC and gave him the oral warning but after lunch service we got the lavatory (LAV) smoke alarm in 5A-IR, so we opened the LAV door and he was caught with cigarette lighter and smoking smell was there,” read the FIR by Kumar.