March 05, 2023
A drunk Indian passenger on an American Airlines trip from New York to New Delhi allegedly urinated on another traveller. On Saturday, Arya Vohra, a student at a US institution, has been named as the accused and has been blacklisted by the airline, reported NDTV.
In response to the disruptive passenger, local police enforcement met aircraft AA292 from John F Kennedy International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport at the airport.
The airline said that the passenger will not be allowed to fly their planes in the future.
"Upon aircraft arrival, the Purser informed that the passenger was heavily intoxicated, and was not adhering to crew instructions on board," American Airlines said in a statement reported by news agency ANI.
He was constantly disputing with the crew, refusing to sit down, and threatening their safety as well as the safety of the plane, the airline reported. The young man ultimately urinated on a passenger sitting in seat 15G after disrupting the safety of other travellers.
Before landing, the American Airlines pilot phoned Delhi ATC to request protection due to an aggressive passenger. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was alerted in advance so that required action could be taken.
"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.
Local Indian media reported that the airport police are taking legal action against the passenger after taking note of the incident.
"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," a senior Delhi Police official was quoted by NDTV as saying.
The airline has also been asked to provide a thorough report by India's aviation regulator. According to a representative of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), they have received a report from the airline. The DGCA said that the airline handled the situation with "professionalism" and took all necessary steps.
This is not the first case of its kind.
A passenger on an Air India aircraft from New York to New Delhi who was 70 years old and intoxicated was allegedly urinated on by a man by the name of Shankar Mishra in November.
The victim wrote to N Chandrasekaran, the head of the Tata Group, which owns Air India, about the incident, which caused a tremendous outcry because the airline failed to notify the authorities about it. Delhi Police later detained Mishra.