Incident on flight more complicated than reported: Air India CEO letter to staff

The cabin crew, who cleaned her seat and provided her a change of clothes, allegedly did not restrain the passenger or file a complaint. The airline reported the matter to police over a month later on December 28.

The Directorate general of Civil Aviation has termed Air India’s handling of the situation “unprofessional” and issued a it a show cause notice, seeking a response within two weeks.

On Friday, Wilson wrote: “Whilst the story is more complicated than has been reported, there are clearly some lessons we can and must learn. Most importantly is that, if an incident on our aircraft involves improper behaviour of such magnitude, we must report it to authorities at the earliest opportunity, even if we genuinely believe that the matter has been settled between the parties involved. The same applies in the case of passengers deemed to meet the threshold of ‘Unruly’.”

According to sources, Air India did not report the matter since they considered it settled between the two passengers.

Wilson told employees to take timely action in such cases. “We must also be clear on the standard of behaviour that is expected on our aircraft and take firm, decisive and timely action against those who do not comply,” the mail said. “Though there are numerous cases in which we have done exactly this, I have asked that these, and other relevant aspects of the Safety & Emergency Procedures Manual, be immediately reiterated by operating departments and reinforced in recurrent training, and I ask each of you to reflect on what you would do if faced with such situations.”