Mohandas Pai hits out at Air India Express over ‘sloppy service’ and staff–passenger spat, demands better training

Investor and businessman TV Mohandas Pai took to social media to condemn Air India Express staff for “bad behaviour” and “sloppy service”. He tagged the airline and its parent company Tata Sons in his post on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter).

Mohandas Pai wrote: “Abysmal service by stewardesses on @AirIndiaX flight IX 2142. Rude, ill-behaved, sloppy service. Arguing with passenger, please take action against stewardesses.”

“Very shocking behavior. When is it better to train the staff of the company @tatasons @AirIndiaX? It has not been done. At least a polite crew can be expected,” he complained.

As of publication time, Air India Express did not respond to Mint’s email query. This report will be updated when a response is received.

This incident comes just days after Indian cricketer Mohammed Siraj publicly hit out at the low-cost airline on November 26 over the delay in leaving Guwahati and lack of communication regarding the same. In its response, AI Express said its flight from Guwahati to Hyderabad was canceled due to “unforeseen operational reasons”.

The airline’s official account responded to Siraj’s post about

Notably, Siraj was returning to Hyderabad after India suffered a 408-run defeat to South Africa in the second test and lost 0-2 in the two-match series. South Africa kept a clean sheet against India at home last year, following New Zealand’s 3-0 win.

Airbus A320 software update

Airbus today flagged a potential solar radiation risk that could disrupt critical data for flight control systems across its A320 fleet currently in service (approximately 6,000 aircraft), leading major airlines worldwide to receive software updates for their aircraft and impacting services.

According to PTI sources, around 200-250 aircraft may be affected in India. It was stated that the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a directive covering 338 jets, 56% of which (189 aircraft) had received the software upgrade by Saturday afternoon, November 29.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said Airbus had asked airline operators to install a useful Elevator Aileron Computer on affected aircraft. ELAC transmits sidestick commands to the rear elevators. EASA’s compliance limit for Indian carriers is 5.30 am on November 30.

In an official statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said the airline has undertaken all necessary inspections and updates for the A320 aircraft and no services have been canceled throughout the process. Air India also made a similar statement, stating that flights will have longer turnaround times and delays due to software/hardware refactoring on part of the Airbus A320 fleet and that the process has already been completed for more than 40% of the affected aircraft.

IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express announced that no flights were cancelled. Akasa Air and SpiceJet do not have Airbus or A320s in their fleet.