A female Air India crew member was attacked by an intruder in her room at a London hotel where she was staying, the airline said in a statement on Sunday.
The company said the incident occurred at a hotel belonging to a major international chain and said a police investigation was ongoing.
The attack reportedly took place at the Radisson Red Hotel at London’s Heathrow Airport, and airline staff had previously raised security concerns at the hotel.
A homeless man entered the room of the hotel where the crew member was staying, news agency PTI reported. When she woke up and noticed the intruder, the man allegedly physically attacked her. He hit her with a coat hanger and then dragged her across the floor, reports said.
She screamed for help and tried to run out of the room, but was prevented from doing so by the intruder. Her colleagues reportedly heard her screams and came to her aid.
The crew member was taken to hospital after the incident. The attacker was arrested.
“We are deeply shocked by the incident of unlawful intrusion into a hotel belonging to a major international chain, which affected one of our crew members,” an Air India spokesman said.
The airline added: “We are providing all possible support, including professional advice, to our colleague and his extended team. Air India is also working with the local police to pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law and with the hotel management to ensure that such incidents do not recur.”
The airline has not officially commented on reports that the crew member may have been sexually harassed. One of the sources told PTI that she was sexually harassed at the hotel, while two other sources claimed it was a physical assault.
Congressman Manish Tewari described reports of the attack as a “very disturbing” incident and claimed that Air India had “deliberately put cabin crew at risk” by failing to address the safety issues.
“The news report of the sexual assault of an Air India crew member in London is very disturbing. What is even more outrageous is that cabin crew have repeatedly complained about the lack of security at the London hotel, inadequate lighting and dark rooms at the London hotel (sic),” he wrote on X.
The Congressman further said: “Air India, which is owned by Tata Companies, has chosen to do nothing about it and has thereby knowingly put its cabin crew at risk.”
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