A Tale of Assaults On Women In Flight

Horrific news stories of attacks and assaults perpetrated on women have been covered by leading newsrooms and news channels. Such is the state that page after page of such atrocities is published in leading dailies.

From the recent case of verbal abuse of an Indigo Airlines crew by a passenger or the latest news of a man urinating on a woman onboard a flight to New York these disgusting behaviours do not seem to end.

Let us throw light on these unacceptable incidents to help develop a sense of awareness and prevent any future occurrences.

The Traveller Peeing On An Elderly Female Co-passenger

An inebriated male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger in Air India's business class on Nov 26, 2022

Air India has lodged a police complaint regarding the incident which took place on Nov 26 when the flight was on its way from JFK (US) to Delhi: Air India official to ANI pic.twitter.com/XE55X6ao0b

— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2023

A drunk man urinated on a woman co-passenger in the business class of an Air India flight in November and left without facing any action. Weeks after the incident, Air India filed a case and recommended that the unruly flier be placed on the no-fly list.

The drunk passenger shamelessly allegedly unzipped and urinated on a co-passenger in her 70s in the business class of an Air India flight from New York to Delhi. The woman complained to the crew and told them her clothes, shoes and bag were soaked in urine.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has sought a report from the airline into the incident that was revealed after the woman wrote a complaint to the group Chairman of Air India, N Chandrasekaran.

Social Media Reactions

Ideally the male passenger should been arrested by CISF on arrival for further investigation, Sad to see that crew members were not cooperative. It must be traumatic for the female passenger to travel this way

— s.kaushik (@clinicalcoordi1) January 4, 2023

The incident shocked netizens, who took to social media to react to it. One user wrote, "Shocking to see pax behavior. All the more sad about the alleged insensitivity shown by crew in this case. I wonder whether the culture of Air India crew still the same as they were when it was in govt hand. Action must be taken."

Unbelievable and then airline took a whole month to lodge a police complaint. Hope they locate the culprit, if he is still in India.

— Sandeep (@Sandeep07102278) January 4, 2023

A second netizen wrote, "Extremely disgusting. Things happened on 26 Nov and now issue is taken up based on lady’s written complaint to the chairman of airlines is really shameful on the airline's part. Accused should’ve been taken into custody right after landing. Pathetic behaviour on part of crew."

Drinking in public palaces is prohibited. I don't understand why they serve drinks in flight. Why do airport authorities not check it before boarding the plane if anyone is drunk. Flight in air is a highly sensitive zone and such behavior is strongly unacceptable.

— Param| PCS (@FunMauji) January 4, 2023

Another netizen commented, "Passenger should be shamed, apart from being put on 'no fly list'. Facilities given should be used properly - drinks within limits without causing inconvenience to co-passengers & the aircraft."

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The Incident Of The Cabin Crew Being Yelled At By A Passenger

Tempers soaring even mid-air: "I am not your servant"

An @IndiGo6E crew and a passenger on an Istanbul flight to Delhi (a route which is being expanded soon with bigger planes in alliance with @TurkishAirlines ) on 16th December : pic.twitter.com/ZgaYcJ7vGv

— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) December 21, 2022

On December 16, 2022, another unfortunate incident took place where there was a row on an IndiGo flight in which a stewardess is heard telling the passenger, "I am not your servant." An eyewitness on the same flight revealed that some of the passengers on the flight were ill-mannered and very rude to the crew. He said that the unruly passengers called them servants and were after their life for food when they know that they are travelling on a low-budget airline.

The IndiGo airline issued a statement on the same. It stated, "We are aware of the incident that took place on the flight from Istanbul to Delhi. The issue was related to meals chosen by certain passengers travelling via a codeshare connection." The airline said that it was looking into the incident. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the incident and will take necessary action on the same.

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Social Media Reactions

Full marks to this lady for standing up @IndiGo6E shld reward and promote her…Seen too much of this ‘you are my servant behaviour’…glad she called it out #womenpowerpic.twitter.com/YmBysxNl3m

— Parvin Dabas (@parvindabas) December 22, 2022

A range of reactions are pouring in on social media. However, the internet remains divided on the matter.

“I'm on the side of the IndiGo flight attendant. The man clearly calls her a servant, he says ‘you are a servant’. She responds with ‘I am an employee’. It makes me sick to see so many men saying this is bad behaviour by a flight attendant. Sorry, but there are limits," wrote another Twitter user.

I’m on the side of the @IndiGo6E flight attendant. The man clearly calls her a servant, he says “you are a servant”. She responds with “I am an employee”. It makes me sick to see so many men saying this is bad behaviour by a flight attendant. Sorry, but there are limits.

— Vasundhara Sirnate (@vsirnate) December 21, 2022

Amidst all the debated, one fellow passenger of the flight took to Twitter and shared that it was clearly the male passenger's fault who behaved ‘rudely’. “The IndiGo crew did take a lot of the brunt from this pax. Otherwise, maybe they could have diverted and dropped him off somewhere in a foreign land with the cops there." a post on the micro-blogging site read.

More validation by copax on that flight that the @IndiGo6E passenger in question was rude.The IndiGo crew did take a lot of the brunt from this pax. Otherwise maybe they could have diverted and dropped him off somewhere in a foreign land with the cops there? He got to come home. pic.twitter.com/EpsyydtDfM

— Ajay Awtaney (@LiveFromALounge) December 22, 2022