'Have a Pissful Flight': Social media users take potshots at Air India

New Delhi: The adage "one person's tragedy is another's comedy" has turned true for the incident of a male flyer urinating on a woman co-passenger during an Air India flight with humour mills on overdrive as jokes and memes flood social media sites.

While the entire incident couldn't have been anything but traumatic for the elderly woman, social media users had a field day.

"Have a pissful" flight, "Air Pisstara", suggestions on Air India's next campaign and new names and more, the jokes and comments flew across social media platforms and varied from text to visual memes to creative cartoons.

In the shocking incident, an inebriated man allegedly urinated on his female co-passenger, a senior citizen in her seventies, in the business class of an Air India New York-Delhi flight on November 26 last year.

While the incident drew condemnation from all quarters, some on Twitter found mirth in it.

One user, @RoflGandhi_, tweeted: "Tata group plans to operate a separate airline for drunken passengers. It would be called Air Pisstara."

Tata group plans to operate a separate airline for drunken passengers. It would be called Air Pisstara. #AirIndia

— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 🏹 (@RoflGandhi_) January 5, 2023

Another user, @danishkh4n, suggested the company's next marketing campaign will be "peshab karna sakht mana hai" (urinating is strictly prohibited).

Air India’s next marketing campaign. pic.twitter.com/FQux7dRYyT

— Danish (@DanishKh4n) January 4, 2023

Comedian Atul Khatri suggested passengers on Air India flights be provided raincoats.

"Instead of giving pajama suits to its business class flyers, Air India should give raincoats," he said.

Instead of giving pajama suits to it's business class flyers, Air India should give raincoats

— Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) January 6, 2023

In the FIR filed by Delhi Police, the victim was quoted as saying that after her "clothes, shoes and bag were soaked in urine... the flight staff refused to touch them, sprayed my bag and shoes with disinfectant, and took me to the bathroom and gave me a set of airline pyjamas and socks."

Posting a picture of some people wearing PPE overalls, a Twitter user said, "walking to my #airindia flight with friends for a vacation, making sure they have extra piss-proof sheets. wish me good luck." People were also quick to recall an incident involving stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, who was banned from a number of airlines after he allegedly heckled TV news anchor Arnab Goswami on a flight.

"For mocking Arnab Goswami on Indigo flight, @kunalkamra88 got 6 months flying ban. And For peeing on lady on Air India flight, pisser gets 30 day ban. If only Kunal Kamra knew that, he would have done the same & got away with lesser days of Ban," wrote a user named Harmeet Kaur.

For mocking Arnab Goswami on Indigo flight, @kunalkamra88 got 6 months flying ban. 

And For peeing on lady on Air India flight, pisser gets 30 day ban.



If only Kunal Kamra knew that, he would have done the same & got away with lesser days of Ban pic.twitter.com/lB6sVnGnz4

— Harmeet Kaur (@iamharmeetK) January 4, 2023

Air India has banned the accused for 30 days and told its staff to report any improper behaviour on aircraft to authorities at the earliest even if the matter appears to have been settled.

The memes and jokes also found their way to messaging apps.

A cartoon doing the rounds on WhatsApp showed an air hostess making a public service announcement that read: "In case of an increase in bladder pressure, adult diapers will deploy from the compartments located above you." A joke on the difference between Air India before and after its privatisation read while in the "old one you were merely pissed off", in the "new one you are pissed on".

Air India's mascot Maharajah was also not spared. A meme with the elegant Maharajah read "Have a Pissful Flight", a play on the word peaceful.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought a report from Air India on the incident which it did not report to the regulator.

The airline did not take any penal action against the accused after he gave a written apology, according to officials.