Fresh from a disastrous handling of an incident where a passenger urinated on a fellow lady passenger, Air India is tightening the screws on consumption of alcohol on flights.
The crew of the Tata-owned airliner may now be given more leeway on refusing to serve to customers who may already be drunk, though the exact wording of the policy is still unclear, according to reports.
The revised policy states that guests should not be permitted to drink alcohol unless served by the cabin crew and that the cabin crew be attentive to identifying guests that might be consuming their own alcohol, reported the PTI.
“Service of alcoholic beverages must be carried out in a reasonable and safe manner. This includes tactfully refusing to (further) serve a guest alcohol,” as per the policy, according to the report.
In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has reviewed its existing in-flight alcohol service policy, taking reference from other carriers’ practice and input from the US National Restaurants Association’s guidelines.
“These were largely in line with Air India’s existing practice, though some adjustments have been made for better clarity, and NRA’s Traffic Light system included to help crew recognise and manage possible cases of intoxication.
“The new policy has now been promulgated to crew and included in training curricula. Air India remains committed to the safety and well-being of our passengers and cabin crew, including but not limited to the responsible service of alcohol,” the spokesperson said.
Air India said it has adjusted its in-flight alcohol service policy in the wake of a mid-air urination scandal that has cost the carrier over US$40,000 in fines, reports AFP.
The incident, in which a drunk senior US bank executive was accused of urinating on a 72-year-old woman seated in business class on a flight last year from New York to New Delhi, has been dubbed “peegate” by local media.
The airline has faced severe criticism for its handling of the woman’s complaint and for allowing the banker, Indian national Shankar Mishra, to disembark as normal when the aircraft landed.
But Air India defended itself in a statement on Tuesday, saying “in the judgement of the crew, the alleged perpetrator posed no risk to flight safety at any time”.
“The alleged perpetrator was calm, co-operative and professed ignorance of the allegation. He had not been served excessive alcohol by crew and did not appear intoxicated to the crew,” the statement added.
The airline did acknowledge, however, its failure to report the incident, which took place on November 26, as required by the Indian aviation regulator.
The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week fined Air India three million rupees (US$37,000), and the airline’s director of in-flight services an additional 300,000 rupees. The flight’s pilot also had his licence suspended for three months for “failing to discharge his duties” to ensure safety and discipline. The airline has since called the penalty “excessive” and vowed to help its staff mount an appeal, the report added.
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