On Tuesday, March 5, a senior corporate executive traveling in the business class of an Air India International flight to London was asked to offload the plane at Delhi airport after being ‘rude’ with cabin crew members and engaging in an argument with them.
According to the media source, The Passenger was Rashmi Saluja, the Chairperson of Religare Enterprises. She showed disrespectful behavior towards the crew. This incident took place on flight AI 161 before departure and was the first time when a high ranking executive, travelling in a business class was instructed to disembark following the captain's instructions.
Sources say that, some other passengers in the business class also perceived her behavior as rude. Given the nearly nine-hour flight duration, the captain opted not to proceed with a potentially problematic passenger and she was asked to leave the aircraft.
Air India’s Statement
Air India Spokesperson said, "We are aware of an incident on flight AI-161 of March 5, 2024.Before the planned push-back, a business class passenger got into a disagreement with crew members, and the captain decided to remove them from the aircraft. Air India strictly abides by the regulations governing the safety and security of all passengers and crew, giving them the utmost priority."
Although we don't want to bother anyone, disruptive behaviour on our flights is just not acceptable. Whether a passenger is a well-known individual or just an ordinary citizen makes no difference. Our top priority is ensuring the safety of all of our crew members and flyers," spokesperson said.
Written Assurance From Passenger
The executive told Air India that it was " very important" for her to get to London after getting off the plane. "After an approximately hour-long delay, flight AI-161 took off after the off-boarding. After receiving a written assurance, the passenger who was off-boarded was accommodated on a later flight because they were travelling for compelling reasons. The spokesperson stated, "We apologise for any inconvenience the delay may have caused to the other passengers.
Delay in Flight departure
This resulted in an approximate one-hour delay in the flight's departure time. It took time to offload a passenger's checked-in luggage who is not on the aircraft.
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