Air India Deplanes Senior Corporate Executive From London-Bound Flight for 'Being Rude' to Cabin Crew

A senior corporate executive, travelling in the business class of an Air India flight to London on Tuesday, was deboarded at Delhi airport after an argument with cabin crew members.

In a statement, the airline spokesperson confirmed that, at the captain’s discretion, the passenger was offloaded prior to the scheduled pushback due to the altercation with the crew.

The incident happened on flight AI 161 on March 5 and the passenger involved was a senior corporate executive, news agency PTI reported. The departure of the flight was subsequently delayed by approximately an hour.

According to The Times of India report, this incident may be the first time a head of a renowned financial services company was reportedly removed from an international flight departing India for allegedly being rude to the crew and engaging in an argument with them.

After being deplaned, the executive requested Air India that it was “very important” for her to reach London.

“She gave us an assurance about her behaviour, and then we put her on the next flight to London. We don’t want to inconvenience anyone but unruly behaviour onboard our flights is simply not acceptable. It does not matter whether a passenger is a common citizen or a prominent person. For us, the safety of all our flyers and crew is of paramount importance,” a source informed TOI.

The spokesperson clarified that the offloaded passenger, who had compelling reasons for travel, was later accommodated on a subsequent flight with a written assurance.

“Following the off boarding, flight AI 161 departed after a delay of about an hour. The passenger who was off boarded was travelling for some compelling reasons and was accommodated on a subsequent flight following a written assurance,” Air India said in a statement.

Detailed information about the incident remains unavailable.

Since January, Air India had denied boarding to 894 passengers, incurring around Rs 98 lakh in expenses for facilitation and compensation, as per information from aviation regulator DGCA.

(With inputs from agencies)