DGCA slams Air India's handling of urination incident as 'unprofessional'

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slammed Air India’s handling of the incident of a drunk man urinating on a woman passenger and leaving without any action as “unprofessional”. The DGCA said in the statement that the manner in which the company handled the incident led to  "systemic failure".

The DGCA has asked the airline's top officials and the pilot and the crew of the flight to furnish an explanation in two weeks.

"The conduct of the concerned airline appears to be unprofessional and has led to a systemic failure. Prima facie it lacks appreciation of regulatory obligations as described in applicable Aircraft Rules 1937, Civil Aviation Requirements on 'Handling of Unruly Passengers', Cabin Safety Circular, Air India Operations Manual, Air India Safety and Emergency Procedure Manual and Air India Quick Reference Handbook and is devoid of empathy," the DGCA said in a statement.

The Tata Group-owned carrier reportedly failed to take immediate action against the male passenger, who walked away after the flight landed at the Delhi airport. The crew provided the female passenger with a set of fresh clothes and she was made to sit on a crew seat as her seat got soaked in urine.

Later, the woman wrote to the chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran, sharing her flight experience describing it as extremely traumatic. She expressed deep disappointment over the incident on November 26 in the business class of the flight.

When the incident was widely reported, the Delhi police registered an FIR and identified the accused. They said the man lives in Mumbai but his current location is in a different state.

The police said they have formed several teams and the man will be arrested soon. 

A similar incident happened on a Paris-Delhi flight operated by the same carrier a week later. According to the news agency PTI, a drunk man urinated on the blanket of a female co-passenger on December 6 on Air India flight 142. This time, the pilot reported the matter to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. 

The airport security was informed that the male passenger was under the influence of alcohol, was not following instructions of the crew, and peed on a blanket of an onboard lady passenger, airport officials said.

The male passenger was apprehended after deboarding the plane after it landed at the Delhi airport at 9:40 am but no penal action was initiated against him, the news agency added. He was allowed to leave after the two passengers reached a compromise and the man tendered a written apology.

The woman passenger did not take the matter further and refused to file a police case, officials said.