Times
of India: Chennai: Monday, 08 September 2014.
Tempertantrums,
drunken rants, physical and verbal abuse by passengers are occupational hazards
for flight attendants, especially women, of all airlines. Air India alone recorded
387 instances of passengers behaving indecently with cabin crew in the past
five years, according to data provided by the national carrier in response to
an RTI query. The airline registered 36 complaints till May this year.
The nature of
harassment varies, with some passengers taking photographs of flight attendants
with or without their knowledge. In August 2013, a passenger went around
clicking pictures of a flight attendant and refused to listen to her pleas to
stop, when asked.
One drunk passenger
on an Air India flight on April 25 grew boisterous and created a scene by
proposing to a flight attendant. In another instance, a passenger demanded that
a flight attendant change her sari and dress up like he directed.
"Some
passengers yell at us and demand that we serve them liquor," said Neha
Sharma (name changed), a flight attendant with Air India. "When you are
subjected to such harassment in front of others, it can be very
embarrassing."
"I think
some passengers don't understand what our job involves," she said.
"We just learn to be very patient."
There is no
comprehensive data of all cases of flyer harassment of cabin crew, but the
total number of cases is likely to be well in excess of 1,000 over the past
five years, given that Air India's market share is currently less than 19%, an
official at Chennai airport said.
Officials of
the ministry of civil aviation said there is zero tolerance for misbehaviour
with crew members. "We have taken action against passengers who misbehaved
with cabin crew in all reported cases," an official said.
But a former
flight attendant said officials do not take all cases of harassment seriously.
"Most abusive passengers get away even when the matter is reported,"
she said.
Airlines
usually direct cabin crew members to issue a warning to a passenger who
misbehaves. If a flyer gets out of control, they are at liberty to restrain him
with whatever device or material is available on board.
In what a
reflection of how traumatic harassment by passengers can be, not a single
flight attendant has withdrawn a complaint.
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