Air India in 2009: stowaways, rats & hunger strikes

Air India has suffered the latest in a string of damaging blows to its reputation after a stowaway managed to hitch a ride on one of its flights by hiding in the toilet.

The security breach, which dates back to Christmas Day, occurred when an Indian national snuck onto a plane bound for Jaipur from the Saudi city of Medina.

He then hid in the aircraft’s toilet before being discovered 45 minutes into the flight.

“We are questioning Habib Hussain on how he managed to breach the security and was able to travel without papers,” a police spokesman told The Times of India.

Though cabin crew were quick to establish that the stowaway posed no threat to the aircraft, the incident is sure to come as a wake-up call for security personnel in both countries.

“Prima facie the negligence seems to be of Air India staff,” the police official commented.

He explained: “The crew members usually check the cockpit and toilet before take-off. But in this case it seems nothing was checked.” Still more worryingly, the Air India cabin crew reportedly failed to notify air traffic controllers even after Mr Hussain had been discovered in the toilet.

For his part, the stowaway said he was simply trying to get home after his Saudi Arabian employer confiscated his passport. He was arrested and has been released on bail.

The security breach rounded off a disastrous year for Air India, which repeatedly hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. Its cabin crew engaged in fisticuffs mid-flight; one of its pilots attempted to fly while drunk; other staff staged a hunger strike over pay; and several rats were spotted on its planes.

© Cheapflights Ltd (Creative Commons image: joseluiscel / Flickr)

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