Air India kicks out ‘troublesome’ head of a top financial company as ‘she was rude’

In a possible first, the head of a prominent financial services company was offloaded from an international flight out of India for allegedly speaking rudely to the crew and arguing with them. The executive, who was also in the midst of a controversy, boarded the business class of Air India‘s Delhi-London flight on Tuesday (March 5) and reportedly started speaking to the crew rudely, a TOI report. When the behavior persisted, the cabin crew informed the captain. ‘Some of the other passengers in business class also found her to be rude. Being a long, nearly nine-hour flight, the captain decided not to take off with a potentially troublesome passenger, and she was offloaded,’ a source told TOI.

The checked-in baggage of a person not on board an aircraft has to be offloaded, causing a delay of about an hour for the flight’s departure. An AI spokesperson stated, ‘We are aware of an incident on flight AI-161 of March 5, 2024. A passenger traveling in business class was offboarded on the advice of the captain, following an argument with members of the crew. AI prioritizes the safety and security of all passengers and crew and strictly adheres to rules governing the same.’

‘Following the off-boarding, flight AI-161 departed after a one-hour delay. The offloaded passenger, who had compelling reasons to be in London, was accommodated on a subsequent flight after providing a written assurance. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to other passengers due to the delay,’ the spokesperson added.

The executive, upon being offloaded, emphasized the importance of her presence in London and assured the airline about her behavior. ‘She was then put on the next flight to London. Unruly behavior onboard our flights is simply not acceptable, regardless of a passenger’s status. The safety of all our flyers and crew is our top priority,’ a source said. The passenger eventually boarded the next flight to London after a four-hour wait.