When Hiroshi Yashizane, managing director of Bridgestone India, decided to fly Air India flight from Delhi to Bangkok, he hoped for a peaceful, uneventful flight. However, he was in for a rude and wet shock.

Just as the plane began its descent, a fellow passenger, who was later identified as Tushar Masand, allegedly urinated on Yashizane.

Yet, this isn’t a one-off tale of mid-air misadventure; it’s the latest chapter in a troubling saga of poor civic sense among some Indian flyers.

Rewind to November 2022: a drunken passenger on a New York-New Delhi Air India flight relieved himself on a woman seated in business class, sparking outrage.

Barely a month later, in December 2022, another inebriated flyer on a Paris-New Delhi route urinated on a female passenger’s blanket.

These episodes, far from isolated, paint a picture of recurring lapses in onboard etiquette that have left fellow travellers appalled and airline staff scrambling.

Air India’s response to the latest fiasco was swift but measured. The cabin crew adhered to protocol, relocating Masand and issuing a stern warning, while offering support to Yashizane, who, perhaps understandably, declined to escalate the matter in Bangkok.

The airline slapped Masand with a month-long no-fly ban and launched an internal probe, with a spokesperson noting, “Our independent committee will review the case and decide on further action.”

These incidents affect India’s global reputation. Internationally, these stories risk fuelling stereotypes of Indian travellers as unruly fliers lacking basic etiquette.

Sociologists have tried to unpack why such behaviour is becoming increasingly frequent. While nervousness about flying and the consumption of alcohol are often cited as triggers, some believe the root cause lies deeper, in the absence of etiquette education, lack of self-awareness, and a cultural tendency to treat public spaces with lesser regard than private ones.

Air rage, defined as sudden violent or aggressive behaviour by passengers mid-flight, is a global issue. But repeated urination-related incidents involving Indian flyers have put a rather unsavoury spotlight on the country’s air travel culture.

While airlines continue to strengthen protocols to deal with unruly behaviour, there’s a larger need for awareness and education around civic sense and social conduct, not just for first-time flyers, but for all passengers.