The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on January 20 imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on Air India, in connection with the urination incident. It also imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on the airline’s director of in-flight services.
The DGCA also suspended the pilot-in-command for three months.
Also read: Co-flyer says Air India pilot made traumatised woman wait for 2 hours before allocating seat
Air India, reacting to DGCA’s imposition of the fine, said it respectfully acknowledges the gaps in reporting with respect to the incident and that relevant steps are being taken to address the issues. “We acknowledge gaps in our reporting, and we’re taking steps to address them,” the airline said.
Air India further said the airline is strengthening crews’ awareness about policies on handling incidents involving unruly passengers. “Air India is committed to stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers,” it added.
A senior citizen woman passenger had the most traumatic flight when a heavily inebriated co-traveller, Shankar Mishra, allegedly urinated over her on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi. The incident happened on Air India’s flight 102 from New York to Delhi on November 26 which took off at 12.30 p.m. (Local time). Both the woman and the intoxicated man, were travelling in business class.
The airline had allowed him to walk scot-free when the flight landed in Delhi, instead of reporting him to the CISF and the DGCA. Mr. Mishra was later arrested in Bengaluru after the Delhi Police formed four teams and deployed them across three cities.
A few days later, in a strange twist, the lawyers of Mr. Mishra, told a Delhi court that their client never peed on the complainant. They further alleged that the woman “herself urinated”.
Air India on January 19 announced a four-month flying ban on Mr. Mishra. “The independent three-member internal committee under the Chairmanship of a former District Judge has concluded that Shankar Mishra is covered under the definition of unruly passenger and is banned from flying for a period of four months as per the relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR),” the airline said.
This means he would be banned from all the airlines under the Air India group — Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect as well as Vistara. It had earlier barred him flying for 30 days due to the internal committee enquiry.
