Drunk Swedish Man Arrested For Molesting Flight Attendant Mid Air

A 63-year-old drunk Swedish man allegedly molested a 24-year-old member of the IndiGo cabin crew during a flight from Bangkok to Mumbai. He has been apprehended by the Mumbai police on charges of molestation.

Reportedly, the intoxicated passenger also attacked another co-passenger and caused a commotion mid-air.

Klas Erik Harald Jonas Westberg, a passenger travelling to Mumbai on the 6E-1052 Indigo Flight from Thailand's capital city, acted out of line with a flight attendant during a meal service. The passenger became disruptive after being informed by the flight attendant that there was no food available on board.

Swedish Man Molests Flight Attendant

The individual in question had reportedly agreed to order a chicken dish during the flight. However, when the flight attendant approached him with the POS machine for payment, he supposedly attempted to inappropriately touch her hand while pretending to swipe his card. When the hostess protested, he allegedly proceeded to stand up and molested her in front of fellow passengers, according to the woman's statement to law enforcement officials.

Although the accused proceeded back to his seat after being reprimanded by the flight attendant, he subsequently stood up and engaged in verbal abuse towards the airline personnel and fellow passengers.

The flight attendant reported the occurrence to the flight captain, and upon the airplane's arrival at Mumbai Airport on Thursday, the accused was apprehended. He appeared before the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate Court and was released on bail.

This marks the eighth instance of an unruly passenger being arrested in India during the past three months, while the molestation onboard rate witnessed its fifth incident between 2017 and 2023.

A similar incident occurred last week where a passenger who appeared to be inebriated allegedly vomited and excreted on board an IndiGo flight. This incident reportedly took place on 26 March during the passenger's travel from Guwahati to Delhi. The female cabin crew members later cleaned up the affected area.

Before this,  another such incident occurred where a passenger allegedly urinated on an elderly woman on an Air India New York-Delhi flight on November 26, 2022. Following this, numerous comparable incidents have been reported in India.

Suggested reading: DCW Suggests DGCA To Limit Alcoholic Beverages To Prevent Harassment On Flights