Air India Passenger Assaults Crew On Toronto-Delhi Flight After Caught Smoking In Lavatory

A Nepalese national assaulted Air India crew on a flight travelling to Delhi from Toronto, after he was caught smoking on the flight.

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A male passenger assaulted crew and some other passengers, and damaged the lavatory door onboard an Air India flight from Toronto to the national capital on July 8, the airline said on Wednesday. The passenger, a Nepalese citizen, was handed over to security agencies on arrival at the airport here. "A passenger on flight AI188 of 08 July 2023 operating Toronto-Delhi displayed unacceptable aggression during flight. He smoked in the lavatory, damaged the lavatory door and assaulted crew and passengers, leaving them with minor injuries," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the spokesperson, the passenger was warned several times by the crew and finally had to be restrained in his seat. On arrival, the passenger was handed over to the security agencies for further course of action as per regulatory requirements and the matter has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the spokesperson said.

In recent times, there have been rising incidents of unruly behaviour of passengers onboard flights. On June 24, there was an incident of a male passenger behaving in a "repulsive manner" onboard an Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi.

Passenger and flight attendant injured after Air China flight hit severe turbulence between Shanghai and Beijing. pic.twitter.com/AGiZ6mp4lt — Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 11, 2023

Also, recently a Shanghai-Beijing Air China flight encountered a severe turbulence, resulting injuries to many passengers and cabin crew. The details of the incident are scarce, but as seen in a video shared Breaking Aviation News & Videos on Twitter, the incident occurred on July 10, 2023 on the Air China Flight CA1524. The video shows the exact moment the flight encountered the turbulence and was recorded by one of the passengers. 

A passenger sitting on the aisle seat sent the flyer out the seat, flying to the roof, revealing the severity of the incident. The flyer was not wearing a seat belt and hence was tossed out of the seat. Had the passenger wear a seat belt, he would have stayed in his seat, a reason why flight attendants always say to wear a seat belt on a flight, as the turbulence can happen anytime.