AirAsia Crew Accused Of Sexual Harassment, Molestation
A woman flying AirAsia in India accused three crew members of sexual harassment and molestation. Her revelation came after the airline filed a complaint with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which stated that the woman berated and maligned its crew members on a Nov. 3 flight.
Charges of wrongful restraint, sexual harassment, and gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman were filed against AirAsia India crew members Sanmit Karandikar, Kaizad Suntoke and Jitin Ravindra. The airline, however, stood by its staff and instead accused the female passenger of mistreating the crew members.
AirAsia filed the complaint against the woman on the day their flight arrived from Ranchi to Bengalaru on Nov. 3. A potential police case will also be filed with the Sadashiv Nagar Police Station.
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The woman, on the other hand, filed her sexual harassment complaint four days after AirAsia reported her to DGCA. She alleged that the crew members did not pay heed to her when she complained about the dirty toilets.
"The steward, Sanmit Karandikar, yelled at me and said they had already cleaned it and ordered me to return to my seat," the female passenger recounted. The crew members were allegedly rude to her during the entire flight. She said they forced her out of her seat and dragged her on the Bengaluru runway, where she was illegally detained at the airport.
The woman further stated she felt she was treated like a terrorist. One of them even threatened to rape her while no one was within earshot of the detention.
AirAsia's account of the incident, however, was different. When the crew asked the woman to take a seat and switch her mobile off during the take-off, she resorted to verbal abuse. The passenger was also escorted to the airport police station with female security personnel.
As per DGCA rules, disruptive passengers might face a three-month to a lifetime ban for mistreating senior crew members. The DGCA will conduct an investigation into this case within 30 days.
