Air India deboards female passenger at Delhi airport after argument with crew members

NEW DELHI: A female business class passenger on an Air India flight to London was deboarded at the Delhi airport following an argument with cabin crew members this week. The incident happened on flight AI 161 on March 5 and the passenger involved was a senior corporate executive, according to sources in the know. In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said a passenger travelling in business class was off boarded on the advice of the captain following some argument with members of the crew before the scheduled pushback. ''Following the off boarding, flight AI 161 departed after a delay of about an hour. The passenger who was off boarded was travelling for some compelling reasons and was accommodated on a subsequent flight following a written assurance,'' the spokesperson said. Further details about the incident could not be immediately ascertained. As many as 894 passengers were denied boarding by Air India in January and around Rs 98 lakh was spent by the airline on facilitation/ compensation, as per information from aviation regulator DGCA.