Air India says it has adjusted its in-flight alcohol service policy following an in-flight urine scandal that resulted in more than $40,000 in fines.
The incident, in which a drunken US bank executive was accused of urinating on a 72-year-old woman sitting in business class on a flight last year from New York to New Delhi, was dubbed “peegate” by local media.
The airline has come under heavy criticism for its handling of the woman’s complaint and for allowing the banker, Indian national Shankar Mishra, to disembark as usual when the plane landed.
Air India is defending itself
But Air India defended itself in a statement on Tuesday, saying that “in the judgment of the crew, the alleged perpetrator posed no risk to flight safety at any time”.
“The perpetrator was calm, cooperative and claimed to be unaware of the allegations. He was not given excessive alcohol by the crew and did not appear intoxicated to the crew,” the statement said.
The airline admitted, but failed to report the incident, which happened on November 26, as required by India’s aviation regulator.
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India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week fined Air India three million rupees ($37,000), and the airline’s director of flight services added 300,000 rupees.
The plane’s pilot was also suspended for three months for “failing to perform his duty” to ensure safety and discipline.
The airline has since called the penalty “excessive” and pledged to help its staff appeal.
More happened
The DGCA on Tuesday imposed an additional fine of one million rupees on the airline for failing to report two more incidents of unruly passenger behavior on separate flights from Paris to New Delhi on December 6.
On that occasion, an allegedly intoxicated passenger was found smoking in the toilet, while another relieved himself on an empty seat and the blanket of another female passenger, the regulator said.
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“We have reviewed our existing in-flight alcohol service policy with reference from other carriers’ practices and input from US National Restaurant Association guidelines,” Air India said in a statement.
The airline will now use the NRA’s “traffic light” system to train crew members to recognize and manage cases of intoxication, Air India said.
The incident sparked a major public relations crisis at the former flag carrier since it was privatized last year.
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