AI passenger onboard Delhi-SFO flight suffers burns after crew accidentally spills coffee; airline apologises

A passenger onboard an Air India flight from the national capital to San Francisco earlier this month suffered burns after a cabin crew member accidentally spilled coffee on her, and the airline has apologised for the incident.

The passenger took to social media to narrate her experience, saying 'Air India delivered distressing experience that took a harrowing turn when flight attendant spilled hot water on my leg'.

'I was travelling from New Delhi to SFO on Flight AI 173 with my 4-yr-old son and 83-yr-old mother-in-law. The flight lasted approximately 16 hrs, and it was nothing short of a nightmare,' the passenger said.

The passenger claimed that she was in excruciating pain and that screamed and cried for help, and that after some time, a physician on the plane offered assistance.

The physician diagnosed the 'injury as a second-degree burn and attempted to provide care. However the flight lacked essential medical supplies, and the treatment was far from ideal I endured severe pain for nearly two hours in flight with no pain medication or proper first aid kit available,' the passenger said in the thread.

'We sincerely regret the unfortunate incident that occurred on our flight AI 173 operating Delhi-San Francisco on 20 September 2023. One of our cabin crew members accidentally spilled coffee on a guest during service,' an Air India spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

While the passenger has claimed that the crew spilled hot water, the airline said coffee was spilled.

The airline said the crew immediately administered first aid to the guest and paged for a doctor on board, who attended to the affected guest.

'We have expressed our sincere apologies to the guest, whom our teams have been in touch with to offer all further assistance, including medical care. We have taken serious note of the incident, and will ensure to retrain the crew member on our standard procedures to avoid such an incident in the future,' the spokesperson said.

According to the passenger, upon landing, the paramedic team evacuated her from the plane, and that the crew did not attend to the family members, leaving them alone and unaware of what was happening.

'It was only with the help of a kind fellow passenger that my mother-in-law was able to contact my brother, who came to pick them up,' the passenger claimed.

The passenger also urged the airline to take immediate steps to rectify these issues and provide better care and services to its passengers in the future.