Urination incident: DGCA slaps Rs 30 lakh penalty on Air India

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 20, 2023: Aviation regulator DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Air India as well as suspended the license of the pilot-in-command of the New York-Delhi flight in which a person allegedly urinated on an elderly female co-passenger.

 

The watchdog has also slapped a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Air India’s Director of in-flight services for failing to discharge her duties, according to a statement on Friday.

The incident came to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) only on January 4 and the latest actions are for violations of various norms. The airline banned the accused passenger, Shankar Mishra, from its flights for a duration for four months.

Air India first received the complaint from the woman on November 27 and commenced engaging in correspondence with the affected passenger’s family on November 30. It was made aware of the issue after the complainant wrote a letter to Tata Sons chairperson N Chandrasekharan, alleging that her clothes, shoes and baggage smelt of urine and the crew did little to help her out of the situation.

Mishra, a resident of Mumbai, was arrested by Delhi Police from Bengaluru earlier this month. He is in police custody. He has denied in court that he urinated on the woman.

Courtesy: Indian Express