‘Pee-gate’ 2.0: Passenger urinates on man in Air India’s Delhi-Bangkok flight, airline responds

Almost three years after a pee-gate or urination scandal brought focus on drunk passengers in an Air India flight, the airline company was left red faced again as a passenger reportedly urinated on a Japanese national on board flight AI2336 en route from Delhi to Bangkok. According to Air India officials in the know, the Japanese national is a senior official of an Bridgestone India.

The incident occurred during the Tata Sons owned Air India flight’s descent and was reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by the airline, according to a news report.

Air India Witnesses Pee-Gate Version 2.0

According to an internal report by Air India reported by news media houses, the incident involved a passenger seated in 2D, identified as Tushar Masand, who urinated on Hiroshi Yoshizane, the Managing Director of Bridgestone India, seated in 1D.

Upon being alerted by Hiroshi, the senior Air India cabin crew members, Sunpreet Singh and Rishika Matre, responded with alacrity, providing towels to assist in the cleanup and relocating Masand to prevent further distress, reported Republic.

Hiroshi was subsequently escorted to the lavatory to change his attire, and the captain was duly informed of the situation.

Meanwhile, another passenger, Matthew, seated in 1F, expressed considerable discomfort and requested that Masand be removed from the business class cabin, citing safety concerns.

Following his visit to the lavatory, Masand offered profuse apologies to Hiroshi, who, despite the distressing nature of the incident, declined to file a formal complaint, preferring not to waste time upon arrival.

Despite Hiroshi’s decision not to escalate the matter formally, Masand was issued a verbal warning and moved to seat 14C after Matthew refused to sit beside him.

Air India Confirms Incident

Air India confirmed that an incident of unruly passenger behaviour was reported to the cabin crew operating flight AI2336, from Delhi to Bangkok, on 9 April 2025.

“The crew followed all laid down procedures, and the matter has been reported to the authorities. In addition to warning the unruly passenger, our crew offered to assist an aggrieved passenger to take up a grievance with authorities in Bangkok, which was declined at the time.” the official statement read.

“The standing Independent Committee will be convened to assess the incident and determine the action, if any, to be taken against the unruly passenger. Air India continues to follow the SOPs as laid out by DGCA in such matters.” an Air India spokesperson sa

Air India 2022 Pee-Gate

The incident took place on 26 November 2022 in the business class cabin of a New York-Delhi flight. The accused Shankar Mishra was allegedly drunk when he apparently urinated on one of his co-passengers, a 72-year-old woman.

“My clothes, shoes and bag were completely soaked in urine,” the woman wrote in her complaint to Chandrasekaran the next day.

The woman said she asked the Air India crew for a change of seat, but was told that nothing was available and was instead offered a small seat used by staff. She alleged that the crew also brought the man to her – against her wishes – so he could apologise.

The woman described the flight as the most “traumatic” of her life, and said that the airline only issued her a partial refund of her ticket. Her account was supported by a US doctor named Sugata Bhattacharjee, who was sitting next to Mr Mishra on the flight.

He told news channel NDTV that he had also written a complaint to Air India on the day of the incident, but “it went nowhere”.

After the incident, Air India formed an internal committee to investigate the complaint against Shankar Mishra.

Two weeks later, Air India imposed a 30-day interim travel ban on Mishra – the length of the ban was among the factors that generated outrage once the news broke. Mishra was arrested. He was also fired from his job at US banking firm Wells Fargo.

Almost three years after a pee-gate or urination scandal brought focus on drunk passengers in an Air India flight, the airline company was left red faced again as a passenger reportedly urinated on a Japanese national on board flight AI2336 en route from Delhi to Bangkok. According to Air India officials in the know, the Japanese national is a senior official of an Bridgestone India.

The incident occurred during the Tata Sons owned Air India flight’s descent and was reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by the airline, according to a news report.

Air India Witnesses Pee-Gate Version 2.0

According to an internal report by Air India reported by news media houses, the incident involved a passenger seated in 2D, identified as Tushar Masand, who urinated on Hiroshi Yoshizane, the Managing Director of Bridgestone India, seated in 1D.

Upon being alerted by Hiroshi, the senior Air India cabin crew members, Sunpreet Singh and Rishika Matre, responded with alacrity, providing towels to assist in the cleanup and relocating Masand to prevent further distress, reported Republic.

Hiroshi was subsequently escorted to the lavatory to change his attire, and the captain was duly informed of the situation.

Meanwhile, another passenger, Matthew, seated in 1F, expressed considerable discomfort and requested that Masand be removed from the business class cabin, citing safety concerns.

Following his visit to the lavatory, Masand offered profuse apologies to Hiroshi, who, despite the distressing nature of the incident, declined to file a formal complaint, preferring not to waste time upon arrival.

Despite Hiroshi’s decision not to escalate the matter formally, Masand was issued a verbal warning and moved to seat 14C after Matthew refused to sit beside him.

Air India Confirms Incident

Air India confirmed that an incident of unruly passenger behaviour was reported to the cabin crew operating flight AI2336, from Delhi to Bangkok, on 9 April 2025.

“The crew followed all laid down procedures, and the matter has been reported to the authorities. In addition to warning the unruly passenger, our crew offered to assist an aggrieved passenger to take up a grievance with authorities in Bangkok, which was declined at the time.” the official statement read.

“The standing Independent Committee will be convened to assess the incident and determine the action, if any, to be taken against the unruly passenger. Air India continues to follow the SOPs as laid out by DGCA in such matters.” an Air India spokesperson sa

Air India 2022 Pee-Gate

The incident took place on 26 November 2022 in the business class cabin of a New York-Delhi flight. The accused Shankar Mishra was allegedly drunk when he apparently urinated on one of his co-passengers, a 72-year-old woman.

“My clothes, shoes and bag were completely soaked in urine,” the woman wrote in her complaint to Chandrasekaran the next day.

The woman said she asked the Air India crew for a change of seat, but was told that nothing was available and was instead offered a small seat used by staff. She alleged that the crew also brought the man to her – against her wishes – so he could apologise.

The woman described the flight as the most “traumatic” of her life, and said that the airline only issued her a partial refund of her ticket. Her account was supported by a US doctor named Sugata Bhattacharjee, who was sitting next to Mr Mishra on the flight.

He told news channel NDTV that he had also written a complaint to Air India on the day of the incident, but “it went nowhere”.

After the incident, Air India formed an internal committee to investigate the complaint against Shankar Mishra.

Two weeks later, Air India imposed a 30-day interim travel ban on Mishra – the length of the ban was among the factors that generated outrage once the news broke. Mishra was arrested. He was also fired from his job at US banking firm Wells Fargo.