In yet another incident of a brawl between Air India staff and a passenger, the airline said a Nepalese citizen assaulted crew and some other passengers after he was prevented from smoking in the lavatory. According to the statement released by the airline, the incident happened on July 8, when the passenger onboarded from Toronto to New Delhi damaged the lavatory door. The passenger was handed over to security agencies on arrival at the airport in New Delhi.
"A passenger on flight AI188 of 08 July 2023 operating Toronto-Delhi displayed unacceptable aggression during flight. He smoked in the lavatory, damaged the lavatory door and assaulted crew and passengers, leaving them with minor injuries," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.
Passenger was warned several times by the crew: Air India
According to the spokesperson, the passenger was warned several times by the crew and finally had to be restrained in his seat. On arrival, the passenger was handed over to the security agencies for further course of action as per regulatory requirements and the matter has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the spokesperson said.
In recent times, there have been rising incidents of unruly behaviour of passengers onboard flights. On June 24, there was an incident of a male passenger behaving in a "repulsive manner" onboard an Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi.
(With inputs from PTI)
