American Airlines said the passenger was heavily intoxicated and was not adhering to crew instructions on board. PHOTO: REUTERS
A drunk student who allegedly relieved himself on a male passenger on an American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi was arrested on Sunday.
The student, identified as 21-year-old Arya Vohra, has been banned from future flights on the airline. Some reports referred to him as Aryan.
The airline said flight 292, which landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9:50 pm local time, was met by law enforcement officers “due to a disruptive customer”.
Several Indian media outlets identified Vohra as a student in an American university.
In a statement to Indian media, American Airlines said the passenger was heavily intoxicated and was not adhering to crew instructions on board.
“He was repeatedly arguing with the operating crew, was not willing to be seated and continuously endangering the safety of the crew and aircraft. After disturbing the safety of fellow passengers, he finally urinated on (the passenger) seated on 15G.”
Indian news outlet NDTV said that Delhi police is taking legal action against Vohra.
This is the second such incident involving a passenger urinating on a fellow passenger on flights between New York and New Delhi.
In end-November 2022, a drunk passenger was arrested following an Air India business class flight from New York to New Delhi, when he allegedly unzipped and relieved himself on a female passenger in her 70s.
The incident came to light only after the aggrieved passenger wrote to Air India’s group chairman, expressing her disappointment that the cabin crew were highly insensitive and handled the incident poorly.
Shankar Mishra, the former vice-president of the American Bank Wells Fargo’s Indian operations, tried to evade the authorities but was nabbed in Bengaluru. He was sacked by the bank.
Air India also banned him from flying with them for four months, and disciplined four cabin crew and a pilot for ignoring the woman’s complaint.
RELATED STORIES