Air India Express ground staffer assaulted by irate woman passenger at Mumbai Airport over priority boarding dispute

A female passenger allegedly attacked an Air India Express staff member at the Mumbai airport on September 1, leading to her immediate handover to the police, PTI reported.

In a statement released on Tuesday, an Air India Express spokesperson detailed the incident: “On 1st September, a passenger at Mumbai airport misbehaved with a staff member of our ground operations partner. The Duty Manager promptly notified CISF, and the passenger was handed over to the police in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures.”

The altercation arose over a dispute concerning priority boarding. The passenger was instructed to wait as another traveller completed her check-in process, which led to the dispute.

Frustrated by the delay, the woman passenger became verbally abusive and reportedly assaulted the airline staff member.

Responding to the event, Air India Express reiterated its strict policies on passenger behaviour: “Air India Express reiterates its zero-tolerance approach to any behaviour that jeopardises the safety and well-being of our guests and employees, and those of our partners.”

Protocol for handling unruly passengers

Airlines in India manage disruptive passenger behaviour following the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on “Handling of Unruly Passengers” issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The DGCA defines “unruly passenger behaviour” to include actions such as consuming alcohol or drugs that lead to disruptive conduct, smoking, ignoring pilot instructions, using threatening or abusive language, physical threats or abuse, intentional interference with crew duties, and any actions that compromise aircraft safety.

Physical aggression, including pushing, kicking, hitting, inappropriate touching, or sexual harassment, is classified as a Level 2 offense.

In such cases, a First Information Report (FIR) is filed with the appropriate security agency, and the unruly passenger is handed over to law enforcement authorities.

Airlines may impose an immediate ban of up to 30 days on the offending individual and notify the DGCA to add them to the regulator’s No-Fly list. Additionally, other carriers may also choose to ban the passenger based on the severity of the incident.

(With inputs from PTI)