American Airlines ban Indian student for allegedly urinating on fellow traveller

An Indian student, who allegedly urinated on a fellow passenger during a flight from New York to New Delhi on Saturday, has been banned by American Airlines for his unruly behaviour. The student, who was identified as Arya Vohra, was heavily intoxicated and repeatedly disregarded crew instructions, endangering the safety of the aircraft and fellow passengers.

According to the airline, the incident occurred on Flight AA292 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport, and local law enforcement was called to meet the plane upon arrival due to the disruptive passenger. The aircraft landed safely at 9:50 pm.

"Upon aircraft arrival, the Purser informed that the passenger was heavily intoxicated, and was not adhering to crew instructions on board. He was repeatedly arguing with the operating crew, was not willing to be seated and continuously endangering the safety of the crew and aircraft. After disturbing the safety of fellow passengers, finally urinated on pax seated on 15G," American Airlines said, according to ANI. As a result, the airline has banned Vohra from future flights.

The pilot of the flight contacted Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC) before landing to report the unruly passenger on board and requested security assistance. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was informed of necessary action. 

"After the landing of the aircraft, CISF personnel took him out from the aircraft, and the said passenger misbehaved with CISF personnel too," an airport official told ANI.

Following the incident, the airport police have taken note of the situation and are taking legal action against Vohra.  "We have received a complaint of urination on a co-passenger from American Airlines against one person Arya Vohra, who is a student in the USA and resident of Defence Colony, Delhi. We are taking necessary legal action," said a senior Delhi Police official.

India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has also requested a detailed report from the airline regarding the incident. "We have received a report from the concerned airline. They seem to have handled the situation professionally and have taken all appropriate action," a DGCA official told ANI.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred on an India-bound flight. In November, a man named Shankar Mishra allegedly urinated on a 70-year-old woman co-passenger in a business class of an Air India New York-New Delhi flight while in an inebriated state. The incident sparked widespread outrage as it was not reported to the authorities by the airline and only came to light after the victim wrote about the incident on social media. Mishra was subsequently arrested by the Delhi Police.