An Italian woman reportedly stripped half-naked before attacking flight attendants after she was busted for self-upgrading to business class on an overnight flight.
Report: Italian Woman Removes Her Clothing, Assaults Flight Attendants In Fit Of Drunken Rage Over Denied Business Class Upgrade, But Her Lawyer Claims She Was The Victim Of Bad Service Onboard
Vistara flight UK252, an Airbus A320 operating an overnight service from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Mumbai (BOM), took off at 12:15 am from Abu Dhabi International Airport.
After takeoff, one of the passengers said to be an Italian national named Paola Perruccio, was drunk and attempted a self-upgrade to business class. Crew noticed and instructed her to return to her seat. She became belligerent, spitting and punching members of the cabin crew. It is not clear why she also partially disrobed.
LS Kahn, one of the flight attendants, alleged:
“Perruccio was in seat 11C in the economy class when she suddenly ran to the business class and sat on seat No. 1. She punched my face when I requested her not to sit in business class. When another cabin crew member ran to help me and told the flyer she could not misbehave on board, she spat on her.”
Perruccio removed her clothing and eventually went into a lavatory. When she came out, crew were waiting and restrained her in her economy class seat. Khan’s report further alleged:
“Perruccio…removed her clothes on board and kept walking in the open space on board. The cabin crew tried to calm her and said her act was disturbing other flyers. But she continued hurling abuses. When the crew went closer, they realised Perruccio was drunk. Meanwhile, senior cabin crew member A Seth informed the flight pilot Aditya Lohar and on his instructions, the crew overpowered Perruccio and tied her to a seat at the rear end of the flight till the flight landed.”
At 4:53 am the flight landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Perruccio has now been released on bail of Rs 25,000 (about 300 USD). Her attorney claims:
“Details have been submitted before the court that Perruccio wanted to complain against Vistara because of the bad services provided to her. She was going to the washroom but was not allowed. The situation arose because of an on-flight ruckus between her and the crew members which ended in a case being filed against her. The court has also been told that police have seized her passport illegally.”
Vistara has issued the following statement concerning the incident:
“We confirm that there was an unruly passenger on Vistara flight UK 256 operating from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on 30 Jan 2023. In view of the continued unruly conduct and violent behavior, the captain issued a warning card and made a decision to restrain the customer.
“The pilot made regular announcements to assure the other customers onboard of their safety and security. In accordance with the guidelines and our stringent SOPs, the security agencies on-ground were informed to take immediate action upon arrival. The incident has been reported to the relevant authorities as per the SOPs. Vistara stands firm with its zero-tolerance policy against unruly behavior that endangers the safety, security, and dignity of its customers and staff.”
CONCLUSION
Perruccio faces prison time and a much larger fine than her measly bail for her alleged violence onboard. My usual admonition of carefully regulating alcohol consumption applies, especially when you fly. Here, though, the fact that Perruccio’s attorney has tried to turn this around on Vistara is unlikely to be persuasive to many considering the eyewitness police reports from others onboard.
image: visual representation – not actual photo from the incident
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