Bad Air Days: Pee-gate, mid-air fist fights and other horror stories from airlines in India

Mayday, mayday. The Indian aviation sector has hit turbulence and it’s been a bumpy ride for the airlines. Over the past few days, various instances of unruly passenger behaviour on board Indian airlines have made headlines across the country. These episodes — ranging from flyers urinating on others to cabin crew staff shouting at a passenger — has gone viral and brought shame to the aviation industry. Here are some of the tumultuous incidents that have occurred in the skies. Pee-gate incidents On 26 November 2022, a passenger on board the business class of an Air India flight from New York to Delhi, urinated on a female flyer. Days after the incident created a massive uproar, the Mumbai-based man, who was inebriated at the time of the incident, was arrested from Bengaluru and sent to 14 days judicial custody. The 34-year-old, identified as Shankar Mishra, was also fired from his place of employment — US financial services giant Well Fargo. Later, a similar incident took place when a drunk man relieved himself on the blanket of a female co-passenger on board an Air India flight from Paris to New Delhi on 6 December last year. The pilot of the aircraft reported the incident to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the man was apprehended later. The female passenger had initially made a written complaint. However, she later refused to file a police case. Thus, the accused passenger was allowed to go by the airport security after clearing immigration and customs formalities. In a third case, a drunken man was arrested for allegedly urinating and creating nuisance at a gate in the departure area of Terminal-3 at the IGI Airport, the police said on Wednesday. The man, who was scheduled to depart from Delhi to Dammam in Saudi Arabia, was later sent to judicial remand for 14 days. Also read: What's the punishment for urinating on co-passengers, fighting on flights? Forgotten flyers On Monday, a Go First Flight G8116 from Bengaluru to Delhi took off without 55 passengers, who were stranded inside a bus on the tarmac. The passengers had checked-in their baggage, which was loaded into the aircraft, and were also issued boarding passes. The incident came to light after passengers tweeted about it. After the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to the airline, asking the authorities why action should not be taken against them for “dereliction of their regulatory obligations.” According to News18, Go First later issued an apology, de-rostered all concerned staff, and initiated an inquiry into the incident. “All concerned staff have been de-rostered by the airline and an inquiry is currently underway," the outlet quoted its sources as saying. Bomb threat According to Moneycontrol, an Azur Air International flight from Moscow to Goa was diverted to Jamnagar airport in Gujarat on Tuesday, after a bomb threat which later turned out to be a hoax. The officials reportedly found nothing suspicious on the flight after it was thoroughly checked by teams of the National Security Guard (NSG) and the bomb disposal squad of local police. There were 236 passengers along with eight crew members on board. Mid-air scuffle In a video doing rounds on social media, an IndiGo flight’s cabin crew was seen engaging in a verbal altercation with a passenger over meals served on board. In the video, a male passenger is seen calling one of the cabin crew a “servant” in an apparent derogatory tone to be retaliated by the IndiGo Airlines Air hostess saying, “I am an employee… I am not your servant,” in a Delhi-bound flight from Istanbul.

Tempers soaring even mid-air: "I am not your servant"

An @IndiGo6E crew and a passenger on an Istanbul flight to Delhi (a route which is being expanded soon with bigger planes in alliance with @TurkishAirlines ) on 16th December : pic.twitter.com/ZgaYcJ7vGv

— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) December 21, 2022

The viral video even captured the attention of Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor, who supported his employee and said that over the years, he has seen “crew being slapped and abused on board flights, called ‘servant’ and worse.” The video triggered massive debates among netizens, later only to side with the female crew member. Stone in a meal Air India landed in another controversy after a woman found a stone in a meal on flight AI 215. In the picture shared by the passenger, she can be seen holding what looks like a piece of stone along with her meal placed in the background. She captioned the post, “You don’t need resources and money to ensure stone-free food, Air India. This is what I received in my food served on flight AI 215 today. Crew member, Ms Jadon was informed. This kind of negligence is unacceptable.”

You don’t need resources and money to ensure stone-free food Air India (@airindiain). This is what I received in my food served in the flight AI 215 today. Crew member Ms. Jadon was informed.
This kind of negligence is unacceptable. #airIndia pic.twitter.com/L3lGxgrVbz

— Sarvapriya Sangwan (@DrSarvapriya) January 8, 2023

Stubborn flyers According to India Today, two men were arrested for allegedly carrying and consuming alcohol on Delhi-Patna IndiGo Flight 6E-6383 on Monday. It should be mentioned that consumption of alcohol is prohibited on domestic flights in India. Media reports suggest that the men engaged in a brawl with the cabin crew. However, IndiGo refuted the claim later. Issuing a statement, the airline confirmed that the matter is under investigation with the authorities. It added that “there was no altercation on board the aircraft, as what is being reported in some sections of social media.” As per the report by India Today, an FIR was lodged after the aircraft landed at around 8:50 pm on Sunday. News18 also quoted its sources as saying that the two accused – Rohit Kumar and Nitin Kumar –  were taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel while a third person, Pintu Kumar, managed to escape from the airport. System issue On Wednesday, a Paris-bound Air India flight made an emergency landing in Delhi after facing a technical snag mid-air. According to NDTV, the aircraft carrying 210 passengers landed safely at the IGI airport. The Air India B787-800 aircraft VT-AND operating flight AI143 (Delhi-Paris) was involved in air turnback due to a snag message, as per the report. In another incident, a Vistara flight from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar returned to the national capital on Monday after the aircraft experienced a hydraulic system issue. According to News18, aviation watchdog DGCA is probing the incident. The report quoted its sources as saying that the aircraft, carrying 140 passengers onboard, landed safely at Delhi airport. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.