Air India flight diverted to Canada over bomb threat
An Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago was on Tuesday diverted to Canada after receiving a bomb threat which was posted online
Air India, on Wednesday, banned for 30 days the passenger who allegedly peed on an elderly woman co-traveller in business class and exposed his private parts to her on a flight from New York to Delhi in November 2022.
In an official statement, the airline said that it had taken a very serious note of the incident that caused extreme distress to the passenger.
“Air India has taken a very serious note of the incident, where a passenger behaved in an unacceptable and undignified manner on the New York-Delhi flight that caused extreme distress to a fellow passenger,” the airline said.
“A police complaint has already been lodged in this case and Air India is committed to assisting the law enforcement agencies as well as regulatory authorities to ensure that justice is delivered to the aggrieved passenger,” the Air India spokesperson said.
The matter has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for further action. As a first step, Air India has banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to do so unilaterally, the airline said.
“We have also constituted an internal committee to probe lapses on the part of Air India’s crew and address the deficiencies that delayed quick redressal of the situation. We are also in regular contact with the aggrieved passenger and her family during the investigation and reporting process,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has registered an FIR under sections 354, 509, 510 of the Indian Penal Code and 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act, against the man, who, in an inebriated state onboard the Air India US flight urinated on a woman co-passenger, a senior citizen, seated in the business class seat.
The police said that the incident occurred on 26 November and the concerned airline approached the police after a month and two days on 28 December.
In her letter to the Chairman of the Board of Tata and Sons, N Chandrasekaran, the victim woman passenger called the flight experience extremely traumatic and expressed deep disappointment over the incident that took place in the business class section of the flight.
In her letter, the woman said that the appalling incident occurred shortly after the lunch was served and the lights were switched off, as she was getting ready to sleep.
Within minutes, an inebriated male walked to her seat and unzipped his pants, relieved himself, and continued to expose his private parts until another passenger asked him to return to his seat.
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