A 62-year-old Vistara passenger has been arrested on charges of allegedly molesting a cabin crew member last Saturday at the Delhi airport, Times of India reported on 28 March. The incident took place when Tata Vistara flight UK997 from Lucknow landed in Delhi and was preparing for deplaning.
According to the TOI report, the air hostess was “touched inappropriately by the accused,” following which he was arrested on sexual harassment charges.
In a first, the airline has now recommended him for the recently enforced No Fly list (NFL), the report added.
Subsequently, other airlines can mull over banning the passenger from flying for the said case. But the decision by one airline is not binding on the other carriers.
The decision to enforce NFL came into effect after Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted an Air India staffer inside an aircraft and later TDP’s Diwakar Reddy threatened IndiGo ground staff at Vizag airport, the TOI report added.
In a statement, the airline has said that it will not tolerate abusive behaviour by passengers.
A member of our cabin crew operating flight number UK 997 from Lucknow to Delhi on March 24, 2018, reported an incident of sexual harassment by a passenger. Vistara does not tolerate abusive or unruly behaviour by passengers that puts the safety of its staff and other customers at risk, or compromises their dignity. We have reported the matter to the police and other relevant authorities. An FIR is registered and investigation is on. We are fully committed to providing our cooperation to all the authorities.A Vistara spokesperson to TOI
The incident comes months after actor Zaira Wasim had complained that she was molested by a co-passenger on a Delhi-Mumbai flight of Air Vistara.
(With inputs from Times of India)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)