Air India urination case: SC calls for revising guidelines for unruly air passengers, ‘something creative have to be...’

The Supreme Court of India on November 26 directed the authorities to reassess and potentially revise the current guidelines for dealing with unruly air passengers, urging that they be aligned with international norms. The court was hearing a plea filed by a 72-year-old woman who was urinated on by a man on board an Air India flight in 2022.

A bench headed by Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan said something creative will have to be done. "Something creative will have to be done. May be strategic seating or something," the Court said as quoted by Bar and Bench.

During the hearing, Justice Viswanathan also cited an incident involving drunk passengers on a flight he had taken along with another Supreme Court judge, Justice Surya Kant. "We had a recent experience during air travel. Two male passengers were fully drunk. One went to the washroom and slept off. The other one, who was outside and had a bag to vomit. The crew was all women. For 30 to 35 minutes no one could open the door. The crew then requested my co-passenger to open the door and take him out to the seat. It was a 2.40 hours flight," he said.

The apex court asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, to instruct the concerned authorities to examine and suitably modify the guidelines on unruly passengers in line with international norms.

The woman who was urinated on by an allegedly intoxicated passenger during an Air India flight from New York to Delhi in November 2022 sought directions from the top court for the DGCA and all airlines. She has requested the establishment of mandatory Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and a zero-tolerance policy to address unruly passengers and protect those affected onboard.

Hema Rajaraman sought direction that the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) to include in the CAR an explicit zero-tolerance policy with respect to "unruly/disruptive behaviour", which would mandate reporting to it and to law enforcement, failing which action would be taken against the airlines in all cases.

Accused Shankar Mishra was arrested from Bengaluru on January 6 for the incident of November 26, 2022, for urinating on a woman in the business class of the flight. The accused was granted bail later.

What did the plea state?

The plea said that in fact, the cabin crew "facilitated" the handing over of her mobile phone number to the man in order for him to "reimburse the cost of shoes, dry-cleaning, etc." She was made to sit on the "very same seat that was wet and smelled of urine," it added. The plea also mentioned that her suffering was compounded when the crew "coerced her to enter into a settlement with the passenger who urinated on her". "She continues to deal with the trauma of the incident," it said.

The plea also sought Ministry and DGCA to issue guidelines on the alcohol policy for international flights operated by Indian carriers. The plea said, “Direct DGCA to amend its Passenger Charter to include the rights and recourse for passengers subject to any sort of abuse by staff passengers, which should include redressal mechanisms for victims via an Ombudsman and also parameters of compensation.”

(With inputs from agencies)