On Board Passenger In Goa-Delhi Air India Flight Assaults Crew Member: Airline Officials

One more case of assault has been witnessed on an Air India flight. According to the airline, a male passenger on board the Goa-Delhi Air India flight physically assaulted a crew member on Monday. The unruly passenger was handed over to security personnel after landing at the Delhi airport.

In recent months, there have been multiple incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard aircraft, and the latest incident happened onboard flight AI882 en route from Goa to Delhi.

Official statements

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, an Air India spokesperson said in a statement, “The said passenger verbally abused the crew members and then went on to physically assault one of them on board. On landing at Delhi airport, the passenger continued with the unprovoked, aggressive behaviour and was handed over to the security personnel. We have also reported the incident to the regulator.”

However, further details about the incident could not be immediately ascertained.

“Safety of our crew and passengers is of utmost importance to us and we strongly condemn this unruly behaviour of the passenger. We will offer all support to the affected crew members,” the spokesperson added.

Recent incidents in Air India flights

Earlier this month, Air India imposed a two-year flying ban on an individual who caused physical harm to two female cabin crew members onboard a Delhi-London flight on April 10.

An unruly air passenger can face a flying ban for varying periods under the regulations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

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Classification of unruly passenger behaviour

According to the rules and regulations, unruly passenger behaviour can be classified into three levels.

Unruly behaviour such as physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation are classified as Level 1 while physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking or sexual harassment are classified as Level 2.

Life-threatening behaviour such as damage to aircraft operating systems, physical violence like choking and murderous assault are considered as Level 3.

Depending on the level of unruly behaviour, an internal committee set up by the airline concerned can decide on the duration for which an unruly passenger can be banned from flying.