Another embarrassing incident has taken place on an Air India flight, reminding many of the infamous ‘pee-gate’ episode from 2022. This time, the incident happened on a flight from Delhi to Bangkok, AI-2336, on Wednesday, April 9.
A 24-year-old Indian passenger, Tushar Masand, reportedly urinated on a co-passenger while on board, creating a major stir.
Masand, who was seated in 2D, had consumed two glasses of single malt whisky before he stood up and urinated on a Japanese passenger sitting in seat 1D.
The victim was identified as Hiroshi Yoshizane, the managing director of Bridgestone India. As per reports, Yoshizane has not filed any formal complaint so far.
The incident brought back memories of the 2022 Air India ‘pee-gate’, where Shankar Mishra, a former Wells Fargo employee, urinated on a 72-year-old woman during a flight from New York to Delhi.
Once the incident happened, the crew quickly responded. Masand was moved to a different seat, 14C, and given a warning. The airline staff helped Yoshizane, who was taken to the lavatory to change his clothes. The captain was immediately informed.
Another business class passenger, Matthew, seated in 1F, was reportedly disturbed by Masand’s behaviour and even requested that he be removed from the business class section for safety reasons.
Air India later confirmed that the incident involved unruly passenger behaviour. The airline, owned by the Tata Group, said in its statement that the crew followed all the standard procedures and offered assistance to the affected passenger.
“The crew followed all laid down procedures, and the matter has been reported to the authorities. In addition to warning the unruly passenger, our crew offered to assist an aggrieved passenger to take up a grievance with authorities in Bangkok, which was declined at the time,” the company said in a statement, as quoted by media outlets.
Masand has already been banned from flying with Air India for 30 days, reports said.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu also responded to the matter, saying that the ministry would look into it and talk to the airline. He added that if any wrongdoing was found, appropriate action would be taken.
