Admitting that Air India could have handled the November 26 incident better earlier, its CEO Campbell Wilson on Saturday expressed regret over the situation, adding that the airline has removed a pilot and four cabin crew members from its roster.
“An internal inquiry is being conducted into whether lapses are being carried out by other staff, in aspects including service of alcohol on the flight, incident handling, complaint registration and complaint handling on board. As a responsible airline brand, we have taken the following steps to materially strengthen and improve how such incidents will be addressed in the future,” Wilson said in a statement.
Wilson was referring to the incident on AI 102 – operating between New York and New Delhi Where a passenger in an inebriated state had a scuffle with his fellow female passenger.
Accused – Shankar Mishra He was arrested by the Delhi Police on Saturday. Air India filed a police complaint on 28 December – a month after the incident – and the police filed a complaint FIR On January 4th.
Wilson clarified that the airline is continuing to support the affected passengers and ensure their well-being.
He highlighted that the airline received the complaint on 27 November and began correspondence with the family of the affected passenger on 30 November.
A ticket refund was initiated on 2 December “with the receipt of the money acknowledged by the victim’s family on 16 December”.
The airline on 10 December commissioned a DGCA-appointed “internal committee” that was tasked with assessing the incidents and included a retired judge, a representative from a passenger association and a representative from another Indian commercial airline. On December 20, a 30-day interim travel ban was imposed on the committee, and Mishra, the CEO said in the statement.
The statement said the airline “convened four meetings between senior airline staff, the victim and her family on December 20, December 21, December 26 and December 30, 2022, to discuss the action being taken and its progress.” could”.
“When the victim’s family requested Air India to file a police report during a meeting on 26 December, it did so on 28 December 2022,” the statement said.
Wilson also said the airline is launching an extensive education program to strengthen crew awareness and compliance with policies for handling incidents and unruly passengers and to have better equipped crew to assist those affected sympathetically. .
The program includes review of airline policy on service of alcohol in flight and frequency of meeting of the “Internal Committee” set by the DGCA, tasked with assessing incidents and arriving at a decision. Can go in a more timely manner.