New Delhi: Air India on Tuesday accepted that it did not correctly classify , and therefore, did not report the incident on flight AI102 where a drunk passenger urinated on an elderly woman. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the airline also added that it would help the pilot, who was de-rostered by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for three months on Friday, to appeal against the regulator’s order.
“Air India accepts that, notwithstanding the mitigating circumstances, based on the letter of the CAR (civil aviation requirement) it did not correctly classify the incident and therefore did not report it as required… The cabin crew and ground staff have been counselled and have since returned to duty,” the airline stated.
The classification has to do with whether an act by a passenger is defined as “unruly behaviour”, and the crew would appear to have been swayed by the fact that the perpetrator was “calm and co-operative” as mentioned in the statement, and overlooked the gravity of his alleged behaviour.
