Passenger assaults Air India crew onboard Goa-Delhi flight

A male passenger onboard an Air India flight from Goa on Monday physically assaulted a crew member and the unruly passenger was handed over to the security personnel after landing at the Delhi airport, according to the airline.

In recent months, there have been multiple incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard aircraft and the latest incident happened onboard flight AI882 enroute from Goa to Delhi.

"The said passenger verbally abused the crew members and then went on to physically assault one of them on board. On landing at Delhi airport, the passenger continued with the unprovoked, aggressive behaviour and was handed over to the security personnel. We have also reported the incident to the regulator," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

Further details about the incident could not be immediately ascertained.

"Safety of our crew and passengers is of utmost importance to us and we strongly condemn this unruly behaviour of the passenger. We will offer all support to the affected crew members," the spokesperson said.

Earlier this month, Air India imposed a two-year flying ban on an individual who caused physical harm to two female cabin crew members onboard a Delhi-London flight on April 10.

An unruly air passenger can face flying ban for varying periods under the regulations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

As per the rules, unruly passenger behaviour can be classified into three levels.

Unruly behaviour such as physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation are classified as Level 1 while physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking or sexual harassment are classified as Level 2.

Life threatening behaviour such as damage to aircraft operating systems, physical violence like choking and murderous assault are considered as Level 3.

Depending on the level of unruly behaviour, an internal committee set up by the airline concerned can decide on the duration for which an unruly passenger can be banned from flying.