Air India staffer slapped by woman passenger at Delhi airport
Less than a month after the Indigo brawl where a passenger was manhandled by the staff, now an incident of a spat between a passenger and Air India employees has come to light. A woman passenger reportedly slapped an Air India staff member at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport over the issue of a ticket on Tuesday (November 28).
The passenger, travelling from Delhi to Ahmedabad, reported late at the counter and got into an argument with the duty manager posted at the counter. Air India in its statement said that the woman had an argument with the staff as she missed her flight after arriving late. They added that the issue has now been resolved. “A lady passenger going to Ahmedabad arrived late at the airport and missed her flight, There was an argument between the duty manager and her, following which some altercation took place. That altercation has now been resolved with the help of security and police,” said an Air India official.
This is not the first time when a passenger got into a scuffle with the Air India staff. A few months ago, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was accused of assaulting an Air India staffer, following which several airlines banned him from flying on their planes till he apologised.Following the incident, the Civil Aviation Ministry brought into effect a ‘No Fly List’ rulebook for unruly passengers.
It must be noted that the no-fly offence list has 3 categories where Level 1 includes unruly physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation. Offences under this call for a passenger to be banned for up to 3 months. Level 2 includes physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, inappropriate touching). This invites a ban of up to 6 months. Level 3 includes life-threatening behaviour – assaults, damage to aircraft systems etc. This will be punished with a ban of minimum 2 years.
An investigation has been ordered in the matter. More details are awaited on the incident.
