Air India has revised its in-flight alcohol service policy amid a rise in incidents related to unruly behavior of passengers. As per Air India’s Liquor Service Policy, in-flight alcohol should be served in a safe manner including tactfully disallowing further serving to guests. The decision to revise its liquor policy comes days after the Tata-owned airline was slapped with two back-to-back penalties for unruly passenger behaviour.
The exact change in the revised policy could not be immediately ascertained. As per the revised policy, guests should not be allowed to consume alcohol unless served by cabin crew and cabin crew should be vigilant in identifying guests who may be consuming their own alcohol.
In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has reviewed its existing in-flight alcohol service policy, with reference to the practice of other carriers and inputs from the US National Restaurant Association’s guidelines.
“These were largely in line with Air India’s existing practice, although some adjustments have been made for better clarity, and have been incorporated into the NRA’s traffic light system to help crew identify and manage potential cases of intoxication.” has been done.
The spokesperson said, “The new policy has now been implemented for the crew and has been included in the training curriculum. Air India is committed to the safety and well-being of our passengers and cabin crew including but not limited to the responsible service of alcohol.” ”
The DGCA recently fined Air India Rs 43 lakh for unruly behavior of passengers on two international flights for reporting lapses. In the first incident, Air India was fined Rs 30 lakh and the director of air services Rs 3 lakh for mishandling the Shankar Mishra incident where he urinated on an elderly woman on a New York-Delhi flight .
In another incident, a fine of Rs 10 lakh was imposed for not reporting the behavior of two drunk passengers, one of whom smoked in flight and the other urinated on an empty seat of a Paris-New Delhi flight.
with PTI inputs