India: SpiceJet passenger 'offloaded' after misbehaving with female cabin crew member

A passenger on a SpiceJet flight was "offloaded" because of his misbehaviour with one of the female cabin crew members, on Monday, the airline said in a statement.

In a video circulating online, flight crew and passengers can be seen involved in a verbal spat after a male passenger allegedly behaved inappropriately with a female crew member. The passenger was later de-boarded off the flight.

"On January 23, 2023, [a] SpiceJet wet-leased Corendon aircraft was scheduled to operate SG-8133 (Delhi - Hyderabad). During boarding at Delhi, one passenger behaved in an unruly and inappropriate manner, harassing and causing disturbance to the cabin crew. The crew informed the PIC and security staff of [this]. The passenger and a co-passenger, who were travelling together, were offloaded and handed over to the security team," SpiceJet said in its statement.

The crew alleged that the passenger had touched one of the crew members inappropriately. On the other hand, fellow passengers claimed that it was an accident due to the confined area on the flight.

The passenger later produced a written apology, but was offloaded to avoid any further conflicts.

Earlier this month on January 9, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show cause notice to the Accountable Manager of Air India, after two incidents of passenger misbehaviour occurring on the airline's flight AI-142 from Paris to New Delhi on December 6 last year came to the notice of the regulator.

The show cause notice detailed why enforcement action "should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations".

One passenger was caught smoking in the toilet while drunk, refusing to listen to the crew.

Another passenger allegedly relieved himself on a vacant seat and blanket of a fellow female passenger when she went to the lavatory.

In another similar incident, an altercation incident between two intoxicated passengers was reported on January 9 on a Patna-bound flight of IndiGo airlines.

The airlines had refuted any such reported incident of two drunk passengers causing havoc on a Patna-bound flight from the national capital and said that no such altercation had taken place.

"With reference to the incident that took place onboard 6E 6383 from Delhi to Patna, the matter is under investigation by the authorities. We would like to clarify that there was no altercation onboard the aircraft, as what is being reported in some sections of social media," IndiGo Airlines had said in a tweet.

The airlines issued a clarification hours after media reported that airport police have arrested two passengers for allegedly creating havoc in an inebriated state on Sunday night.

Patna Airport SHO Robert Peter said that the police took action after the manager of IndiGo filed a written complaint against the accused.

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