Bengaluru: A passenger aboard an Air India flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco had bitter experience and caused concern after he found a metal blade in the in-flight meal served to him.Â
Passenger Mathures Paul discovered a metal blade in his in-flight meal. Paul, a journalist, took to social media to recount his experience on Air India’s AI 175 flight, where he encountered the foreign object while eating roasted sweet potato and fig chaat.
In his online post, Paul described how he felt something metallic in his mouth while chewing his meal. Upon investigation, he found a blade-like metal piece embedded in the food. He shared images of the bowl with the metal blade next to the remaining food, expressing relief that he suffered no harm but criticizing Air India’s catering service for the incident.
“Air India food can be sharp. Hidden in the sweet potato and fig chaat was a metal piece resembling a blade. I only realized it after chewing for a few moments. Thankfully, there was no injury. However, this incident certainly doesn’t improve my perception of Air India,” he wrote.
In response, Air India reached out to Paul and offered a one-way business class ticket valid for redemption on any Air India flight within a year. However, Paul reportedly declined the offer, criticizing it as a ‘bribe’.
Air India addressed the incident, attributing the foreign object to its catering vendor’s vegetable processing machine. Rajesh Dogra, Air India’s Chief Customer Experience Officer, confirmed to news agency ANI, “A foreign object was discovered in a guest’s meal on one of our flights. Our investigation traced it back to the vegetable processing machine used at our catering partner’s facilities.”
Air India also responded directly to Paul’s social media post, expressing regret over the incident and assuring him that the matter would be thoroughly reviewed and addressed.
Air India food can cut like a knife. Hiding in its roasted sweet potato and fig chaat was a metal piece that looked like a blade. I got a feel of it only after chewing the grub for a few seconds. Thankfully, no harm was done. Of course, the blame squarely lies with Air India’s… pic.twitter.com/NNBN3ux28S
— Mathures Paul (@MathuresP) June 10, 2024
