In two separate incidents, Air India was back in the news for odd reasons. In one incident, a male passenger onboard an Air India flight from Amritsar to the national Capital on Saturday behaved in an unruly manner, engaged in a verbal altercation with a co-passenger and was handed over to airport security after landing at Delhi airport. The incident occurred on flight AI454.
In the second incident, a Chennai-bound Air India flight was forced to return to Mumbai on Saturday due to a “burning smell” in the cabin. The aircraft, however, landed safely, Air India said in a statement.
“Air India flight AI639, operating from Mumbai to Chennai on Friday, June 27, made a precautionary air return to Mumbai due to a burning smell in the cabin,” the airline said.
Regarding the incident of unruly passenger behaviour, Air India stated that the cabin crew immediately de-escalated the situation by relocating the second passenger to a business class seat for the remainder of the flight.
The airline said that a member of the cabin crew noticed a passenger on board flight AI454 “standing in the aisle, engaging in a verbal altercation with another passenger.”
“During cabin preparations for landing, a member of our cabin crew noticed a passenger standing in the aisle, engaged in a verbal altercation with another passenger. The second passenger reported to the crew that the individual was being abusive,” the airline said in a statement.
It added that the complainant was relocated to a business class seat for the duration of the landing and that the disruptive passenger was handed over to airport security after the flight landed in Delhi.
The security team was present when the flight landed at Delhi airport. “The disruptive passenger was handed over to airport security for further investigation,” Air India said, adding that it will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities.
Emphasising its “zero-tolerance policy towards disruptive behaviour,” the airline said that the crew members informed the security team about the situation, “who were present upon the flight’s arrival in Delhi. The disruptive passenger was handed over to airport security for further investigation.”
Earlier, in a separate incident on Friday, Air India asked four of its senior employees to resign after a video showing staff dancing and celebrating at the office went viral, allegedly after the fatal Air India AI171 crash in Ahmedabad.
In an official statement, the company said, “At AISATS, we stand in solidarity with the families affected by the tragic loss of AI171 and deeply regret the lapse in judgment reflected in a recent internal video. The behaviour does not align with our values and firm disciplinary action has been taken against those responsible as we reaffirm our commitment to empathy, professionalism and accountability.”