Recently airports have become a place for fights between the officials and the passengers. Here is the latest catfight that took place at an airport.
Air India was embroiled in a controversy on Tuesday after it was reported that a woman passenger and an airline staff slapped each other at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The woman was apparently miffed after she was denied boarding as she reported late for her flight.
The lady passenger, Poonam Arora, the wife of former Faridabad deputy commissioner Praveen Kumar, and an Air India duty manager slapped each other at the airport after the traveler was denied boarding as she reported late for her flight.
Poonam slapped the Air India official four times. The spectacles of the airline staff were broken and she got hurt. To protect herself, the lady retaliated.
The Poonam was booked on Air India’s Delhi-Ahmedabad flight that was scheduled to depart at 5 am but reported at the check-in counter nearly 40 minutes before her flight instead of the required 75 minutes.
After an argument over the issue, she was directed to the Air India duty manager. A heated exchange soon ensued and the Poonam slapped the lady airline staff, who hit her back. The two later apologized to each other and the matter was “amicably resolved,” police said.
An Air India spokesperson said, “A lady passenger was told by a counter staff that she will not be able to check-in because she was late for the flight. This led to an argument and the staff directed her to the duty manager and there was an argument.” According to a police official, the passenger slapped the Air India staff.
“A lady passenger had to board Air India Flight No AI 019 to Ahmedabad at 0500 hrs. She reported at 0418 hrs. for check-in and was denied boarding. An argument started between her and the Air India lady staff. The passenger then slapped her. The lady staff in retaliation also slapped her,” said DCP, Airport, Sanjay Bhatia.
Air India check-in counters close 45 minutes before a scheduled departure for domestic flights and 75 minutes prior to international flights. Domestic passengers are required to report 75 minutes before their flight and international passengers must report 150 minutes prior to scheduled departure.
The incident comes on the heels of a string of reports of rude behavior by airline staff of low-cost carrier IndiGo. In a recent video, an Indigo staffer was seen making two men, who had allegedly misbehaved with her, touch her feet and seek apology at the Rajiv Gandhi airport in Hyderabad. A couple of weeks ago, a video emerged, showing a passenger being manhandled by two employees of IndiGo.
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