‘Not your servant’: IndiGo air hostess gives it back to the passenger shouting at her
IndiGo passenger calls cabin crew ‘servant’, DGCA launches probe
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched an investigation into the incident on IndiGo 6E 12 Istanbul-Delhi after a viral video of the December 16 flight showed a passenger calling a flight attendant his “maid” during a heated argument.
“We are looking into it,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation told to media
IndiGo has also started an investigation into the incident, but the airline has not produced any prima-facie evidence of the incident.
“The issue involved meals selected by some passengers traveling through codeshare connections. IndiGo is aware of the needs of its customers and it is our constant endeavor to provide a courteous and hassle-free experience to our customers. We are investigating the incident and would like to assure you that customer comfort has always been our top priority. We are committed to always providing the best experience,” an IndiGo spokesperson said about the incident.
There have been many incidents of misbehavior with both crew and passengers in the Indian aviation sector. The Indian Aviation Act, as per the updated Aircraft Rules, 1937, contains provisions for marking a passenger as unruly if the person does not follow the rules of conduct at the airport or on board the aircraft or disobeys the instructions of the airport staff. or crew members. and thereby disrupts order and discipline at the airport or on board the aircraft.
Unruly behavior also includes using any threatening or abusive language towards a crew member or other passengers, physical threats, rude and disruptive behavior towards a crew member or other passengers, and smoking, among others, on the aircraft.
Similarly, passengers can complain about an unruly crew member or flight crew member to the aviation regulator DGCA or to Air Sewa. Sometimes the regulator also takes suo moto cognizance of complaints filed by passengers on social media platforms.
“This is not an easy fix. Indians are known for extreme politeness to elders, guests, and loved ones on the one hand and extreme rudeness and indecency towards foreigners and those they consider lower on the totem pole. Unless our education system and society change to deal with this thinking, we will see this behavior repeat itself in the sky,” said the behavior analyst.
A video from December 16 shows a heated argument between a crew member and a passenger, with both complainings of being yelled at. A person with knowledge of the matter said the incident was triggered because a passenger who had pre-booked a sandwich did not want to eat a cold sandwich on the 6.5-hour flight and asked for a change of meal.
“He was very impatient about it and didn’t understand that food on a low-cost flight is limited according to pre-ordered meals,” the person added.
Confectioner and chocolate maker Tejasvi Chandela from Jaipur was on the same flight and recalled that the altercation was over the availability of food and started after a passenger started shouting at a senior crew member after another argument with a junior crew member.
Most of the passengers kept shouting and asking for food, probably not knowing that they would not get free food on the low-cost carrier and only pre-booked meals would be served, Chandela recalled, adding that several passengers who caused a commotion over the food also did not choose to buy food on board.
“Seconds after the drunk passenger was moved to another seat, this passenger who was a few seats ahead of me started saying something rude to the flight attendant, she looked so upset, I saw her end the conversation, cry and walk backward,” he said. Chandela said.
“She (junior crew member) was serving and he was like jaldi karo! I could only see her face, no matter what she was trying to say he just cut her off, she didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because he was just accusing her of things, it was one of those moments I could tell. so I saw her with tears in her eyes and she was leaving,” said Chandela.
“Then this lady came up to encourage the conversation, she’s like sir, you can’t talk to us like that, he was the first to raise his voice and point the finger at her. Obviously everyone would get upset about that and then they would also call her a maid, which was so humiliating and then obviously so tacky,” she added.
The flight was turbulent, which limited crew members from being able to operate consistently, and they had to move the dining cart back several times, she said, adding that the passenger showed a tendency to become more disruptive if not stopped. moment.
“I remember an incident a few years ago where a new crew, only 19, was slapped by a man because his food was not on board. I met her the same day, she was inconsolable and said this is not what she signed up for. She stopped flying on the same day,” Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said on Twitter.
“As I’ve always said, the customer is always right… until they’re wrong
