Pee-Gate 2.0: Air India Business Class Passenger Urinated On

I don’t want to kink shame, but am I the only one who doesn’t have the sudden urge to urinate on a fellow airline passenger when I have a bit too much to drink?

Air India passenger pees on man in front of him

This incident happened today (April 9, 2025), on Air India flight AI2336 from Delhi (DEL) to Bangkok (BKK), operated by an Airbus A320neo with the registration code VT-RTS. We have all the details of what happened, thanks to a crew incident report shared by Republic. According to the report:

• An Indian national seated in seat 2D (an aisle seat in business class) urinated on a Japanese national seated in 1D (who was sleeping at the time), immediately in front of him
• The crew quickly helped to offer wet towels to the man who was peed on, and he then changed his clothes
• The person seated across from the guy who was urinated on was upset with the man who was urinating, and demanded that the crew remove him from business class, because he didn’t feel comfortable being around him
• The man who was urinating became apologetic when the man who was urinated on emerged from the lavatory
• The crew asked if the man wanted to file a formal complaint, but he said he didn’t want to waste his time on the matter; the captain and authorities were still informed of the situation
• The man who was urinating felt guilty and was given a verbal warning, and he ultimately moved to a seat in economy
• All business class passengers were asked whether they wanted to file a complaint, but they all decided not to, at least at the time

Air India issued the following statement in regards to this incident:

“The crew followed all laid down procedures, and the matter has been reported to the authorities. In addition to warning the unruly passenger, our crew offered to assist an aggrieved passenger to take up a grievance with authorities in Bangkok, which was declined at the time. The standing Independent Committee will be convened to assess the incident and determine the action, if any, to be taken against the unruly passenger. Air India continues to follow the SOPs as laid out by DGCA in such matters.”

While that was the initial story, there’s an additional update. The man has ultimately filed a formal complaint with the airline, stating that he didn’t want to do so at the airport, because he was on a tight schedule. He questioned how a visibly intoxicated person was allowed to board the flight, and the lapse in pre-boarding screening and in-flight supervision.

The complaint reportedly includes four requests:

• Action being taken against the person responsible for the act
• A formal written apology from Air India
• Assurance and clarity on measures to prevent such incidents in the future
• Appropriate compensation for the distress, inconvenience, and humiliation, caused

The complaint also threatened escalation through diplomatic and legal channels, including the Japanese Embassy, international aviation regulators, and more, if the airline didn’t handle this properly.

I don’t understand how these incidents happen?

What’s kind of wild is that this isn’t even the first time that such an incident has happened on Air India. In early 2023, Air India made global headlines, when a man in business class urinated on his seat mate (a woman in her 70s) on a flight from New York to Delhi. As is the case here, he was reportedly intoxicated.

The questions being asked are right — are the gate agents and crews not monitoring alcohol consumption and intoxication? It’s interesting how both incidents are in business class, so one wonders if they’re just less strict in premium cabins, or what. Admittedly people metabolize alcohol differently, but still.

Second, I just don’t understand the logistics and intent here:

• Like, how do you pee on the person in front of you? Did he stand up, walk up to him, take his thing out, and start peeing, or how exactly does that work?
• Even if one is drunk, what’s the psychology of wanting to pee on others, unless it’s some sort of a kink?

I have so many questions…

Bottom line

An Air India business class passenger on a Delhi to Bangkok flight was urinated on by the man seated behind him. The man was reportedly intoxicated, and was ultimately moved to economy. While the passenger didn’t initially want to file a complaint, he ended up submitting one after the fact, and is demanding the airline take action.

What do you make of this pee-gate 2.0 saga?