Appalling insensitivity in dealing with flier’s bad behaviour
The gross insensitivity of an Air India crew in dealing with an incident of an inebriated passenger flashing and peeing on a co-flier onboard its New York-Delhi flight a few weeks ago is appalling. It is a blot on the reputation of the Tata group that got to own the airline amid great fanfare last year. That the matter was underplayed despite the 70-yearold victim writing about her ordeal to the Tata Group chairman a day after the episode is even more worrying. There can be no place for mutual settlement in such instances. The only proper thing to do would have been to report it upon landing and make the offender, Shankar Mishra, face the full force of the law. Yet, the crew allowed him to force compensation on her despite the victim’s refusal even to see him, and they let Mishra walk free upon landing in Delhi. It completely violated the standard operating protocol (SOP), drawing a sharp rebuke from the Indian aviation regulator, DGCA. For reasons only a thorough investigation can unravel, Mishra appeared more important to the crew than the victim. He was vice president of the Indian operations of a multinational firm, Wells Fargo. But the company sacked him when it could not deodorise the stench of his atrocious behaviour. Reports of similar incidents happening in the past before the airline was privatised could indicate the crew’s reaction is a legacy issue. That, again, is a subject of probe.
The crew apparently showed bad judgement on how much alcohol could be served to the individual on the flight. They compounded their folly by not giving the victim proper alternative accommodation and later goading her back to her seat that reeked of urine. And the pilot refused to upgrade her from business class to first class even though it had vacant seats.
As for Mishra, he has been arrested from his hideout in Bengaluru. A Delhi court before which he was produced advised the police to go by the law and not by public pressure when they sought his police remand. Over a month after the despicable episode, national outrage forced the airline to de-roster the cabin crew and a pilot of that flight. And Tata Group’s chairman admitted they fell short of addressing the situation the way they should have, adding their response should have been much swifter. Now that the airline is reviewing its SOPs, here’s hoping it handles victims with compassion and empathy in future.