Hours after reports surfaced about one more urination incident on an Air India flight, the airline on Thursday said in this case, a passenger relieved himself on the vacant seat and blanket of a fellow passenger.
"Air India confirms that a passenger on Air India Flight 142 from Paris to Delhi on 6 December 2022 relieved himself on the vacant seat and blanket of a fellow passenger when the latter was in the lavatory," the airline said.
Air India said the crew identified and isolated the offender and reported the incident to authorities. At Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, the passenger was taken into custody by the CISF personnel.
However, 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 airline said.
This was the second such incident where a person urinated mid-air - both on Air India flights.
On November 26, a drunk male passenger urinated on a fellow passenger in the business class of an Air India flight from New York to Delhi.
In a two-page statement, the woman recounted the horror and said she wanted the man arrested immediately by the airport police. However, she said, the crew brought the offender before her against her wishes, and they were made to sit opposite each other in the crew seats.
The Delhi Police have filed an FIR and making efforts to arrest the person. They have written to the authorities concerned seeking to issue a Look Out Circular (LOC) against the accused, according to ANI.
Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday said Air India's conduct appeared to be 'unprofessional'. It has 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 case.