An Air India flight attendant was assaulted in her hotel room near London, in what can only be described as a vicious attack.
Air India crew attacked at Heathrow hotel
Earlier this week, an Air India flight attendant was reportedly attacked while sleeping in her hotel room, during a layover at London Heathrow Airport (LHR).
Specifically, the Air India crew was staying at the Radisson RED Hotel London Heathrow (I’m only sharing the name because Air India has since switched the crew hotel). According to reports, at around 1:30AM, the flight attendant was attacked by an intruder in her room.
The intruder reportedly attacked her with a clothes hangar and dragged her on the floor. The flight attendant screamed, and eventually her colleagues in nearby rooms came to her rescue, at which point the intruder fled.
The flight attendant was injured and had several bruises, so was hospitalized. She has since flown back to India as a passenger, as she was unable to work the return flight (understandably).
I don’t want to speculate, as there are several versions regarding who the intruder was, whether the assault was sexual or not, and whether the intruder was caught. Regardless of those details, this incident is absolutely horrifying.
I feel terribly for the flight attendant, because even once her physical scars from this incident are gone, I’m sure this will take a big mental toll on her. Nobody deserves to feel so violated.
Air India issued the following statement regarding the incident:
We are deeply anguished by an unlawful incident of intrusion at a hotel, operated by a major international chain that affected one of our own. At Air India, we are as concerned about this incident as all of you are.
We are providing all possible support to our colleague and the broader team, including professional counselling. Air India is also working with the local police and will pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law.
We constantly review travel and stay arrangements, made at reputed international hotel chains, based on feedback of our employees and internal review to ensure the safety and comfort of employees. In this particular instance, we have taken immediate measures and decided to move our colleagues to another hotel.
We have reached out to the management of the current hotel to ensure the security of colleagues staying there. We have been given an assurance that there will be no compromise to safety and security till such time our colleagues are relocated to another hotel.
Our team in London is actively monitoring the safety aspects and will be available for any support during this period.
Air India accords foremost priority to the safety, security and wellbeing of all employees who travel on duty.
We request that the privacy of those involved is respected. Requesting all to refrain and use their judgement towards speculation on social media posts.
To what extent is Air India to blame?
A lot of the commentary online about this incident seems to be attacking Air India, claiming that this happened because of the “cheap” hotels where the airline places its crews during layovers. There’s also mention of how crew had repeatedly complained about lack of security at the hotel, but Air India refused to make changes.
Indeed, in recent years Air India has tried to cut costs when it comes to layover hotels for flight attendants. But does that put Air India at fault in any way? After all, when you consider the difference between a three-star hotel and a four-star hotel, being safe inside your room isn’t supposed to be a point of differentiation.
Now, we don’t know exactly how the intruder gained accessed to the room. Since the flight attendant was sleeping while she was attacked, one assumes that the door’s deadbolt wasn’t in use. At least that’s the case in virtually every hotel room intrusion story that I’ve heard of.
It’s always shocking to me how often we hear of incidents where there are intruders in the room, and the occupants of the room didn’t use the deadbolt. You should use it every second that you’re in the room, even if you’re not asleep. That’s even more the case if you’re at a hotel where you have safety concerns.
Of course a hotel should do everything it can to ensure guest security, though I also think the concept of trusting that any public spaces of a hotel are “safe” is unrealistic. Even if a hotel requires key cards for accessing elevators, that’s still not a foolproof way to prevent intruders. For that matter, often the “bad actors” in these situations are other hotel guests. This is also why it’s so important to deadbolt your door…
Speaking of London hotels and intrusions, some longtime OMAAT readers may remember my 2016 incident at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane London, where three child bandits broke into my room as I was checking in. Of course that wasn’t nearly as traumatizing — there was no assault — but the point is that you shouldn’t trust anyone in a hotel hallway.
Bottom line
An Air India flight attendant was attacked in her hotel room near London Heathrow Airport during a layover. The attack happened around 1:30AM, at which point a stranger entered her room and attacked her. This is beyond terrifying, and I can only imagine how hard that can be to recover from. It’s another reminder to always use the deadbolt in a hotel room when occupied.
What do you make of this incident?
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