IndiGo stands with its staff - CEO Pieter Elbers

Radhika Bansal

07 Jan 2023

Amid (still-simmering) furore over the mid-air argument last month between a flight attendant and passenger, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Thursday told news agency ANI '... if people are not behaving we (must be) able to take adequate measures'. "Our crew is trained... we help and support them to the maximum... but it is a two-way street," he said. "We will work with the authorities to make sure we get the proper procedures (in place).. have always put emphasis on that in training our crews... want to provide courteous and hassle-free service."

"….(but) treat our crew in the way you want to be treated. That would be my message," the IndiGo boss added.

Elbers' comments come not only after the December video showing staff on an Istanbul-Delhi flight arguing with a passenger over food choices.

In the video an IndiGo cabin crew member says to the passenger: "You are pointing (your) finger... yelling at me. My crew is crying because of you. Please try to understand, there is a cart and counted meals are uplifted (on the plane). We can only serve what your boarding (pass shows)...," she can be heard saying.

Towards the end of the video the (male) passenger tells the flight attendant to 'shut up', to which she fires back 'you shut up'.

The confrontation went viral on social media and led to widespread support for airline cabin crew members, as well as a measure of criticism.

IndiGo said the crew lead had to intervene as the passenger in question had shown 'bad behaviour' and 'insulted' one of the airline's flight attendants.

IndiGo also found itself in hot water after a video seemed to show one of its staff 'throwing' a musical instrument belonging to Sufi singer Bismil.

Days after the fight between the IndiGo crew and passenger, a similar clash was reported from a Thai Airways Bangkok-Kolkata flight.

Two male passengers - their nationalities are unclear - got into a heated argument that turned into a fight while a flight attendant looks on helplessly.

The incident prompted concerns about mid-air safety.

And, this week, it emerged that a passenger in the business class section of an Air India New York-Delhi flight was drunk and urinated on a woman co-passenger. The man has been identified as Shankar Mishra, a vice president for Wells Fargo, a US-based corporation.

Air India has come under fire amid reports the crew did not offer help.

A Director General of Civil Aviation official said the regulator had not been notified, and that a report had been sought citing 'failures at multiple levels'.

Read next

Private trainer aircraft crashes in MP's Rewa district, killing the Pilot

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

A private trainer aircraft crashed after it collided with the dome of a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, killing the pilot, police said on Friday, January 6. The aircraft belonged to the Falcon aviation academy.

The crash that occurred at about 11.30 PM on Thursday, January 5 night also left a trainee pilot injured, who has been admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa, located about 400 km from the state capital Bhopal.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1611212856195960832

The aircraft crashed 3 km away from the Chorahta airstrip after hitting the dome of a temple and a tree while on a training sortie, the police said.

The Cessna trainer plane flew in circles several times before attempting to land in dense fog. No locals were hurt in the crash while the trainee pilot was out of danger.

A private trainer aircraft crashed in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, killing the pilot

Captain Vimal Kumar (50), a resident of Patna, was killed in the crash while trainee pilot Sonu Yadav (23), a resident of Jaipur, suffered injuries and was admitted to the government-run Sanjay Gandhi Medical College Hospital, said Rewa collector Manoj Pushp. Earlier, a local police officer had given different names of the two crash victims.

"The plane collided with the temple during training, one pilot has died, and the other is injured and is being treated at Sanjay Gandhi Medical College," Navneet Bhasin, SP, Rewa said.

Rewa District Collector Manoj Pushp said a probe is underway into the crash.

Read next

Air India passenger incident : What? How? When?

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO asks the airline staff to report any instances of improper behaviour that take place on any of its aircraft to the authorities at the earliest. He further stated that this must be done even if the matter appears to have been settled.

In an internal communication to airlines' employees, he reflected on the urinating incident to say that "the repulsion felt by the affected passenger is totally understandable and we share her distress.

"Whilst the story is more complicated than has been reported, there are clearly some lessons we can and must learn. Most importantly is that, if an incident on our aircraft involves improper behaviour of such magnitude, we must report it to authorities at the earliest opportunity, even if we genuinely believe that the matter has been settled between the parties involved. The same applies in the case of passengers deemed to meet the threshold of 'Unruly'."

Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India

Ten days after the shocking November 26 urinating incident on a New York-Delhi Air India flight, another episode of a drunk male passenger allegedly urinating on a female passenger's blanket was reported on the Paris-Delhi sector but there was no penal action after he gave a written apology, officials said on Thursday.

During the incident, a passenger on Air India flight 142 from Paris to Delhi on December 6 relieved himself on the vacant seat and blanket of a woman co-passenger, when the latter was in the lavatory.

Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO asks the airline staff to report any instances of improper behaviour that take place on any of its aircraft to the authorities at the earliest.

"The crew identified and isolated the offender and reported the incident to authorities. The aircraft was met on arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport and the passenger was taken into custody by CISF personnel," an airline spokesperson said.

As the victim and the accused reached an understanding, the CISF allowed the accused to leave after he tendered a written apology. In deference to the victim's wishes, Air India did not lodge a police report, the spokesperson said.

The incident - the second such on an Air India international flight - came out on Thursday, January 5. The previous incident occurred on November 26, 2022, wherein a Mumbai businessman urinated on a female co-passenger on board an Air India New York-New Delhi flight. The DGCA had said that the conduct of Air India, was unprofessional and led to a systemic failure, as provisions related to the handling of an unruly passenger on board had not been complied with.

DGCA seeks a report of the incident

Air India said it has imposed a 30-day flying ban on a passenger who had urinated on a female co-passenger onboard a flight from New York to Delhi in November 2022 and set up an internal panel to probe whether there were lapses on the part of their crew in addressing the situation.

Air India has banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to unilaterally do so, and reported the matter to the DGCA for further action

Aviation regulator DGCA said it has sought a report from the airline on the incident, which happened on November 26 and will "take action against those found negligent".

Air India said it has filed a police complaint about the incident but did not specify when the 30-day flying ban on the passenger came into effect. Delhi Police said several teams have been formed to catch the passenger and registered a case against the accused.

Based on the complaint given by the victim, Delhi Police has registered a case under sections 294 (does any obscene act in any public place), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 510 (Misconduct in public by a drunken person) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant section of Aircraft rule.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has written to the Air India Limited chairman to intervene in the matter. It said the action violated the woman's right to live a life of dignity and safety.

Airlines have the power to impose a flying ban on an individual for unruly behaviour for up to a lifetime. While Air India has banned the passenger from taking its flights, other carriers can decide whether a flying ban should be imposed on the individual concerned.

What is the incident?

On November 26, an inebriated male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger during a flight from New York to Delhi, according to reports. Without mentioning the details of the incident, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has taken a very serious view of the incident, where a passenger behaved in an unacceptable and undignified manner on the New York-Delhi flight that caused extreme distress to a fellow passenger.

Air India told DGCA that the female passenger initially requested that action be taken against the offender upon arrival. However, she rescinded her request after the two parties appeared to have sorted the matter out between them and there was no further confrontation. The airline reported the matter to an internal enquiry committee which has held its first hearing and a second hearing will happen on 10 January.

In her complaint letter to Grievance Air Sewa, the elderly woman, who is in her 70s, said, "I would like to submit a complaint about my appalling experience travelling with on Air India Business Class Flight AI102, Seat 9A, from JFK to New Delhi on 26 November 2022. During the flight, shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off, a male business class passenger seated in 8A walked to my seat, completely inebriated. He unzipped his pants and urinated on me and kept standing there until the person sitting next to me tapped him and told him to go back to his seat, at which point he staggered back to his seat. I immediately got up to notify the stewardess of what had happened. My clothes, shoes and bag were soaked in urine."

However, the lady passenger in her complaint said that the crew tried to mediate between her and the offender despite her saying that she wanted him to be arrested on arrival. “The crew brought the offender in front of me against my wishes and we were made to sit opposite each other. He started crying and asked me not to file a complaint saying he was a family man. I told him his actions were inexcusable but in my shock and trauma and his pleading, I found it difficult to press charges against him,” she wrote in her complaint to DGCA.

Air India has "banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to unilaterally do so, and reported the matter to the DGCA for further action," the spokesperson said in a statement. However, Air India declined to provide details about when the flying ban was imposed.

"We have also constituted an internal committee to probe lapses on part of Air India's crew and address the deficiencies that delayed quick redressal of the situation," the statement said. Further, the airline said it is also in regular contact with the aggrieved passenger and her family during the investigation and reporting process.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the morning said the regulator is "seeking a report from the airline and shall take action against those found negligent". The airline had not reported the incident to the regulator earlier.

What do DGCA rules say?

Under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) issued by DGCA in 2017, regarding the handling of unruly passengers, an airline has the power to ban an individual from flying for a lifetime. If one airline places a person on the no-fly list, then other airlines have the option of whether to impose a similar ban on the individual concerned.

The ban period varies depending on the violations being classified as Level 1, 2 or 3. For Level 1, which pertains to unruly behaviour such as "physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation", the ban can be for up to three months. The debarment will be up to six months for Level 2, which pertains to physically abusive behaviour like "pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment".

For Level 3 when there is a life-threatening behaviour like damage to aircraft operating systems, "physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault, attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment etc", the ban can be from a minimum of two years or more without a limit, as per the norms.

The home ministry can also provide DGCA and airlines, with a list of individuals identified as national security threats for inclusion in the no-fly list under the CAR.

Against the backdrop of the Air India incident, stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra tweeted '2 Air India's" and shared a screenshot of Air India banning him sometime back following alleged unruly behaviour onboard an IndiGo flight. Kamra also shared a screenshot of a media report saying that Air India has banned the passenger who urinated on a female co-passenger for 30 days.

Look Out Circular (LoC) issued against the accused

A Look Out Circular (LoC) has been issued against the accused who had allegedly urinated on his female co-passenger on an Air India flight, to prevent him from leaving the country. In another update, only 4 crew members have joined the investigation so far. Others are to join the probe today.

“A team of Delhi police reached Mumbai to meet a relative of accused S Mishra about getting information about the accused," according to a statement by Delhi Police.

The police said the accused, Shankar Mishra, is the vice president of the India Chapter of an American multinational financial services company headquartered in California. A senior police official said, "Mishra is a resident of Mumbai. We had sent our teams to Mumbai at his known locations but he was absconding. Our teams are trying to trace him".

Holding that Air India's conduct appeared to be "unprofessional", aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday issued notices to the officials and crew of the New York-Delhi flight, asking why action should not be taken against them for "dereliction" of duty while handling the November 26 ''urination'' incident.

According to the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA, "it appears that provisions related to handling an unruly passenger on board have not been complied with. The conduct of the concerned airline appears to be unprofessional and has led to a systemic failure. It lacks appreciation of regulatory obligations."

On the two Air India passenger urination cases, the DGCA has issued show-cause notices to the Accountable Manager, Director of In-Flight Services, Air India and the pilots and cabin crew members of the November 26 flight as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for non-discharge of their duties.

Read next

A woman alleges strip searched at Bengaluru airport during security check

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

A woman passenger alleged that she was asked to remove her shirt during the security check at Bengaluru Airport, a charge the CISF, which handles security at airports, said will be looked at internally.

“The department will conduct its own internal inquiry regarding this incident,” CISF chief PRO Anil Pandey said.

The woman, who was booked on a domestic flight, tweeted, “I was asked to remove my shirt at Bengaluru airport during security check. It was really humiliating to stand there at the security checkpoint wearing just a camisole and getting the kind of attention you’d never want as a woman.” Tagging Bengaluru airport, she posted, “@BLRAirport Why would you need a woman to strip?”

The airport authorities distanced themselves from the episode. “We have nothing to say, as it (the matter) has got to do with the CISF,” a communication team member of the airport told PTI.

As the tweet went viral, the woman later deleted the tweet and deactivated her account.

A woman alleges strip searched at Bengaluru airport during security check

CISF personnel deployed at the airport said the incident took place around 8 pm. A CISF personnel said, “As per procedure, CISF personnel directed the passenger to remove her jacket, which contained metal parts. They (CISF personnel) did not ask her to remove the shirt. Although she complied with the rules during the security check, she later tweeted falsely accusing us.”

Chief PRO Pandey said, “Our prime responsibility is to ensure security and follow security-check procedures as per norms. Our priority is also to ensure that during the procedure, no personnel should hurt passengers or emotionally get on the wrong side of the passengers. The department will conduct its own internal inquiry regarding this incident.”

The CISF staff asked her to remain inside while the jacket was returned, and the passenger reportedly said she was comfortable stepping out. The passenger was seemingly unhappy when security personnel asked her to take off her coat.

It has also been reported that the CISF is contemplating taking legal action against the woman passenger, who was flying to Ahmedabad from Bengaluru on an IndiGo flight, for making false accusations against the agency.

Read next

Lufthansa to reactivate stored Airbus A340 due to anticipated demand for air travel

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

Lufthansa will bring back all its stored Airbus A340-600 aircraft to service due to the anticipated demand for air travel in the upcoming summer travel season. 

The airline, which has 10 Airbus A340-600s in its fleet, will reactivate the planes in Q2 2023, “to cover the high demand for long-haul flights for summer 2023,” a Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed. Five aircraft will be based at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), while the remaining five will be based at Munich Airport.

Currently, six Lufthansa Airbus A340-600s are designated as stored, per planespotters.net data. Two are parked at Teruel Airport (TEV) in Spain, one aircraft is stored at Frankfurt Airport and another at Munich Airport, while another one is currently at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Lufthansa to reactivate stored Airbus A340 due to anticipated demand for air travel

While D-AIHU has been flying actively throughout December 2022, its last flight was on December 27, 2022, as it has not been active since, according to flightradar24.com records. Its last arrival airport was MUC. All 10 A340s are equipped with eight First Class seats, making them the only other aircraft apart from the Boeing 747-8 to boast the most luxurious cabin in Lufthansa’s fleet.    

Additionally, the A340-600s have 44 Business, 32 Premium Economy, and 213 Economy seats, according to the carrier’s seat maps. Lufthansa’s Airbus A380s, which are also scheduled to return to service in the next few months, are also equipped with first-class seating. 

The Airbus A340-600s, meanwhile, have had a tumultuous few years. Initially, Lufthansa retired each one during the initial outbreak of COVID-19, with seven exiting the airline’s fleet throughout 2020. But as borders opened, closed, and then reopened again, the fate of the aircraft type changed accordingly.

German carrier's Airbus A380s are only likely to be reactivated just before the summer season.

In April 2020, Lufthansa decommissioned all of the four-engine jets but appeared to keep an open mind about eventually bringing back at least some of the planes. At the time, a spokesperson for the carrier said that it will decide on “the future use of the aircraft or a possible reactivation of a maximum of ten aircraft”, at a later date. 

In the summer of 2021, the German carrier brought back five Airbus A340-600s to support the high-demand season, before repeating the cycle of storing them and then bringing them back for the following summer season in 2022. Then, in March 2022, Lufthansa reactivated six of the wide-body aircraft. 

ALSO READ - Airbus A380 makes a comeback as travel demand increases amidst high fuel prices

Read next

Aviation experts bemoan examiners' lack of practical expertise when evaluating pilots' ATC communication abilities

Radhika Bansal

05 Jan 2023

Aviation experts have raised questions on the alleged incompetence of examiners responsible for granting licenses to budding pilots for their communication skills while operating flights. Pilots are trained to efficiently communicate with air traffic controllers (ATCs) in all kinds of situations.

Post-training, they have to pass a test to obtain a Radio Telephony Restricted License or RTR(A). Radiotelephone is a communication system operated between aircrew members and pilots to air traffic control and ground station. This system is crucial for airline operators. The Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing of the Ministry of Communication conducts the test.

Aviation experts allege that the chief examiners who interview these aspiring pilots have no hands-on experience. They also demand that the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), should be handed over the responsibility to conduct the RTR(A) test.

Once a candidate clears RTR(A) test, he becomes eligible to get Flight Radio Telephone Operator (FTRO) license from the DGCA. Without an FTRO license, a candidate cannot get a commercial pilot's license (CPL) from the aviation regulator.

"Since the screening process is off the mark, flight training institutes (being aware of the shortcomings) compromise with the high training standards," Captain S S Panesar, ex-pilot and former director of flight safety and training of erstwhile Indian Airline, said. "This results in communication goof-ups between pilots and ATC which jeopardises air safety," he said.

Experts further say that instead of giving emergency situations to pilots and asking them how will they communicate with ATC, officials of WPC make the candidates draw diagrams of satellites, and optical fibre used in the data cable, and ask for the definition of 2G and 3G, among others.

"These are irrelevant questions," Panesar said, adding that he filed an application under the Right to Information Act (RTI) to the Ministry of Communication to find out the background of the chief examiners. He said the ministry admitted that the examiners have no experience in handling radio equipment fitted in an aircraft while it is flying or on the ground.

The ministry, responding to Panesar's application, said that these chief examiners have the "basic qualification of graduate in Engineering, or MSc with electronics as a special subject and have wide experience of working with various communication systems spanning over more than at least 20 years". "The examiners monitor various radio communications, including aeronautical communication, and have the basic qualification of diploma. They do not operate radio RT equipment fitted in an aircraft while the aircraft is flying or on the ground," the response added.

However, Arun Kumar, Director General, DGCA, told PTI that the aviation regulator is also associated with the process. "Our experts participate in the conduct of the examination," he said. The experts argued that these DGCA experts, who participate in these exams, also come from technical backgrounds like air navigation services (ANS), among others.

Captain Charanvir Singh Randhawa, secretary, of the Federation of Indian Pilots, seconds Panesar and says getting an RTR (A) license is a herculean task as the questions asked by the instructors are vague and irrelevant from a pilot's point of view. "Moreover, students are disqualified if demands for money are not met. They are also not selected as questions outside the syllabus are asked. The syllabus is totally outdated and not according to the norms required for pilot testing," he said. "Representations by pilots on the issue have fallen on deaf ears. Also, efforts to put this examination system under DGCA have failed as there are vested interests of personnel from WPC," he claimed.

Capt Randhawa feels that there is an urgent need for getting this examination system under DGCA, and revising the syllabus by the Flight Standards Directorate (FSD) of the DGCA, among other measures. "These steps will end the red-tapism and agony of obtaining RTR(A) by pilots," he said.

Highlighting the practice in developed countries like the UK, veteran pilot Amit Singh, who runs an NGO -- Safety Matters Foundation -- said in developed countries both RTR(A) and FTRO licenses are awarded by the aviation regulators only. Professionals engaged in training pilots say that the practice of RTR(A) exams has been there with WPC for a very long time.

Still, over a period of time, its standard has deteriorated and now candidates are cleared on the basis of whims and fancies of the examiners. "Both the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and DGCA are aware of the issue and in June 2022, the MoCA had moved an office memorandum to shift RTR(A) exam from the WPC to DGCA," a ministry source informed.

He added, "It involves changes in the legal framework such as the Aircraft Act and Rules, The Indian Wireless Telegraphy (Commercial Radio Operator Certificate of Proficiency and License to Operate Wireless Telegraphy) Rules, among others. Probably, due to these reasons, the transfer is being delayed."

Retired air commodore B S Siwach, a veteran with distinguished recognitions such as the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal, says that even Air Force pilots, who have thousands of hours of flying experience, have to go through this process to get CPL. He suggests that till the time the legal framework is amended, the examiners should be given hands-on training so that they will understand aviation phraseology.

Comment