Air India’s Lunch Box Wars Reach A Tipping Point

According to media reports, when an Air India captain made an out-of-bounds request of a cabin crew member, the dispute forced the airline to find a replacement flight attendant and led to a delayed flight along with the promise of rule changes that could prevent all crew members from packing a tiffin lunch in the future.

When it comes to grabbing a bite to eat en route, Air India crews just can’t seem to catch a break. First, we learned that the food storage concerns on long-haul international flights returning to India have caused many crew members to swear off inflight catering altogether. More recently, Air India management chastised pilots for pre-ordering special meals and put its foot down, warning employees to deal with the “meal schedule laid down by the company.” Now, one Air India captain may have just caused the India flag carrier to prohibit crews from packing a brown bag lunch.

On Monday, an Air India Flight 772 from Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR) to Dum Dum Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) was reportedly delayed for the most absurd of reasons. When a flight attendant objected to the captain’s order to clean his dirty tiffin box after the pilot had finished his meal, the resulting disturbance caused the flight to depart nearly two hours behind schedule with a replacement flight attendant on board.

“We have taken a serious note of this incident that happened on Monday,” an airline spokesperson told India Today. “We will soon ask the pilots to not bring their own food on flights. I have been told that the captain wanted the cabin crew member to clean the tiffin after he finished his meal. Probably, this is what lead [sic] to a fight between them. An investigation regarding this incident has already been started. Strict action will be taken.”

This is not the first time an Air India captain’s enthusiasm for cleanliness coupled with a serious aversion to performing menial tasks has caused an embarrassing flight delay. In 2015, a captain stubbornly refused to depart for more than three hours; it wasn’t until a fellow employee agreed to clean the pilot’s emergency oxygen mask with a sanitizing wipe that he eventually agreed to taxi from the gate.

[Featured Image: Wikimedia/ bandita]