“Fell Short, Matter Of Personal Anguish”: Tata Boss on Air India Pee-Gate

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran today admitted that Air India’s response to a drunk flyer urinating on a woman should have been swifter.

On a New York-Delhi Air India flight on November 26, Shankar Mishra allegedly unzipped his pants and urinated on an elderly woman in the business class. He later begged the woman not to report him to the police, saying it would impact his wife and child.

“Air India’s response should have been much swifter. We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should have been,” Mr Chandrasekaran said in a statement.

“The Tata Group and Air India stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew with full conviction,” he added.

The Tata Sons chairman also said that they will review and repair every process to prevent such incidents from happening.Air India filed a police complaint only this week and said as there was “no further flare-up or confrontation”, and “respecting the perceived wishes of the female passenger, the crew elected not to summon law enforcement upon landing. It banned Mishra from flying for 30 days, triggering outrage by social media users who said it was not enough.

Shankar Mishra was arrested by the Delhi Police on Friday, six weeks after the incident. A Delhi court later sent him to judicial custody for 14 days, saying no police custody was required for further investigation.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson on Saturday apologised for the incident and said four cabin crew and a pilot have been de-rostered and the airline is reviewing its “policy on service of alcohol in flight”.

Earlier, Mr Wilson, in an internal communication, told the airline staff to report any improper behaviour on aircraft to authorities at the earliest even if the matter appears to have been settled.