Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor on Wednesday brought to notice the ‘safety lapses’ inside a flight after Air India banned a drunken passenger from flying for 30 days over allegedly urinating on an elderly co-passenger during a New York-Delhi flight after the lights were turned off.
The incident took place on November 26, 2022, as reported by the news agency ANI.
Reacting to the shocking incident, Kapoor said that lights should be kept dim and not off. “The practice of plunging the cabin into complete darkness during night flights / after service is one I have always disliked. Makes it harder to see what's going on in the cabin. I had barred this at both SpiceJet and Vistara when I was there. Lights would be dimmed, not off.”
"Dimming the lights is the standard. Turning them off is not, or should not be", stressed Kapoor adding that the crew switches off cabin lights to reduce workload.
"My guess is it is done by some crew to force sleep and reduce workload. Have seen this on daytime flights too, sadly. Blinds completely closed (or electronically "closed" by the crew on 787s), lights off", the tweet added.
Kapoor highlighted the safety and service concerns in the flight owing to complete darkness.
"Safety as crew and passengers otherwise move through the aisles in darkness and can trip or stumble and to allow the crew to keep an eye on the cabin visually. Service as hard to serve or respond to service requests in complete darkness," he noted.
Kapoor said that the crew master control on dimming with a lock should not be allowed except for takeoff and landing (to make them undimmed). “Have seen this misused by the crew on multiple airlines", he added.
A man allegedly urinated on an elderly woman after lunch was served and the lights were switched off as she was getting ready to sleep. The passenger has been booked and a police complaint was launched against him. The passenger has been banned from flying with Air India for 30 days or till the decision of the internal committee, whichever is earlier, according to the spokesperson of Air India. If found guilty, action will be taken against the unruly passenger as per regulatory guidelines.
An Air India official told ANI, "Air India has constituted an internal committee in this incident and recommended to put the male passenger on 'no-fly list', the matter is under government committee and the decision is awaited."