Air India directs cabin crew not to indulge in conduct that could affect airline's image

Tata Group-led Air India has issued a fresh set of guidelines for its cabin crew, where it has cautioned them to stick to the standards of ethics and warned of disciplinary action in case their conduct directly impacts the airline's image. On Monday, the airline's in-flight safety department issued instructions to its cabin staff not to “engage in any of the acts which are against the Tata Code of Conduct (TCOC)”, a PTI report said.

The fresh set of instructions was issued after a recent incident where a wide-body aircraft pilot allegedly was caught with two iPhone 14 at the Delhi Airport and was subsequently asked to pay Rs 2.5 lakh towards (Customs) duty. Air India hasn’t commented on the above issue yet.  

"We are in receipt of feedback that some cabin crew members are carrying items in commercial quantity on their return to India from a foreign country, which is against the customs regulation," the airline said in the communication.

Noting that crew members are ambassadors of an airline, it said, "They must adhere to the standards of ethics and follow TCOC as their conduct directly impacts the image of the airline."

Removing items from aircraft or any other company's premises or affiliated premises without written permission is a "violation of TCOC", it added.

According to the communication, there are security checks that have been planned on arrivals across the network to stop this "malpractice". "You all are hereby instructed not to indulge in any of the acts which are against TCOC... Any violation to above will lead to strict disciplinary action," Air India said.

TCOC is an official document that provides ethical guidelines for the group's companies and employees.

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Recently, Air India faced a lot of criticism for handling an incident in which a passenger named Shankar Mishra allegedly urinated on an elderly female co-passenger in November 2022. Following this, the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Air India.  

DGCA also suspended the license of the pilot-in-command of the New York-Delhi flight and slapped a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Air India’s Director of in-flight services for failing to discharge her duties. This was the first time that DGCA penalised an airline for unruly passenger behaviour onboard a flight.

The watchdog also issued showcause notices to Air India’s Accountable Manager, Director in-flight services, all the pilots and cabin crew members of that flight for the case involving a senior citizen.