Air India has confirmed that a flight attendant was brutally attacked by an intruder who managed to break into her hotel room in the early hours of the morning earlier this week during a layover in London.
The shaken flight attendant was reportedly saved by other crew members sleeping in adjacent rooms who were woken by her cries for help and managed to scare off the intruder.
The assaulted crew member had to be taken to a local hospital and a criminal investigation has been opened by London’s Metropolitan Police. The intruder is yet to be caught.
Air India flight attendants stay at a major international hotel right next to London Heathrow Airport. The hotel is also used by several other airlines, along with a number of other hotels nearby.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Air India said the Tata-owned carrier was “deeply anguished” by what it described as an “unlawful incident” at a hotel it uses for crew layovers in London.
“We are providing all possible support to our colleague and the broader team, including professional counselling,” the statement continued. “Air India is also working with the local police and will pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law.”
Amidst rising concern over sexual violence against women in India, the airline said it had already taken “immediate measures” to find an alternative hotel for flight attendants to stay at during layovers in the British capital.
The contract with the new hotel has not, however, started yet and in the meantime, crew members must still stay at the hotel where the alleged assault took place. Air India said it had “reached out to the management of the current hotel to ensure the security of colleagues staying there”.
Local media reports claim the flight attendant was dragged out of her bed by the intruder and attacked with a clothes hangar, which left her face bruised and bloodied.
The flight attendant attempted to escape and was eventually saved by her colleagues. Due to her injuries and emotional state, the crew member had to be taken back to India as a passenger.
Prior to its acquisition by the Tata Group, Air India told crew members that the airline was so strapped for cash that it could no longer afford to pay for Four or Five Star hotels during international layovers.
In 2018, flight attendants were moved into more basic Three-Star hotels, and there was even talk at one point of making crew members share hotel rooms to halve hotel room costs.
Air India still pays for its pilots to stay at a premier hotel in Central London.
