Unruly carriers prey on cabin crew, passengers

Kolkata: Md Imran, the Kidderpore-based carrier' arrested at Kolkata airport on Saturday evening for harassing a female passenger at Dhaka airport and later on a Biman Bangladesh flight, is no aberration. Passengers and cabin crew are regularly harassed by carriers' on the Dhaka-Kolkata and Bangkok-Kolkata sectors, say sources.
"These men generally carry Indian food items like papad, masala and biscuits while flying out and electronics or garments when flying in. Some own small stores while others just do the carrying job," an airline official said.
Few incidents are reported because the victims are wary of humiliation.
"In most instances, these rowdies travel in numbers and intimidate victims. What Imran and his two cronies had not bargained for was the grit of the woman they targeted on Saturday," said a Biman Bangladesh official, who often hears about the misbehaviour of carriers on the Dhaka-Kolkata flight on Tuesdays and Saturdays when there is a connecting flight from Hong Kong.
"There are close to 100 carriers who frequently fly to Hong Kong via Dhaka. They are a major nuisance to cabin crew and passengers. Such is the situation that we do not roster female flight attendants on these flights," the official said.
In the past three years, cabin crews have filed at least six complaints against the misbehaviour of the carriers.
31/01/11 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2011, Foreign Jan 2011