NEW DELHI: An Air India air hostess was assaulted by an intruder in her London hotel room earlier this week. Luckily her cries for help reached colleagues in adjacent rooms and they quickly gathered after which the assaulter tried to run away but was eventually nabbed. The dazed young woman, who suffered bruises, was taken to hospital and is now back in India where she is being counselled, said an official.
Confirming the same, an AI spokesperson said: “We are deeply anguished by an unlawful incident of intrusion at a hotel, operated by a major international chain, that affected one of our crew members.We are providing all possible support to our colleague and their broader team, including professional counselling. Air India is also working with the local police to pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law, and with the hotel management to ensure such incidents are not repeated.”
The airline added that it “accords foremost priority to the safety, security and wellbeing of our crew and staff members” and requested “the privacy of those involved is respected.”
The incident happened post shortly after midnight at Radisson Hotel London Heathrow. That night crew member of multiple AI flights were at the property. “The crew member was sleeping when an intruder attacked her in her room around 1.30 am. Startled, she woke up and screamed for help. He attacked her with a clothes hanger and dragged her on the floor as she tried to escape towards the door,” said sources.
Her colleagues immediately came to her rescue. “She was badly bruised and the intruder tried to escape. The police were called in and she was taken to a hospital. She could not fly back on duty and a friend from the crew stayed back with her,” sources add.
The police are probing the attack. “The intruder was arrested. He might have been a homeless person who walked into the hotel and managed to enter the room. The lack of security in the hotel is shocking. Luckily the crew member’s friends came to her rescue quickly and save her just in time,” sources say.
AI pilots stay in Central London and the cabin crew in hotels near Heathrow. This alleged attack took place just a day after an 11-year-old Australian girl was stabbed eight times while visiting Leicester Square as a tourist with her mother.
“The law and order situation in some parts of Britain, including London, as of now requires everyone there to be alert. We avoid going out alone after late evening these days in London. Only hotels with foolproof security systems must be selected for stay of crew members, especially when those properties are not in central but outer London,” said multiple pilots who have been operating flights to London. Heathrow is in Zone 6 as per London tube map, with Zone 1 being Central London.
Confirming the same, an AI spokesperson said: “We are deeply anguished by an unlawful incident of intrusion at a hotel, operated by a major international chain, that affected one of our crew members.We are providing all possible support to our colleague and their broader team, including professional counselling. Air India is also working with the local police to pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law, and with the hotel management to ensure such incidents are not repeated.”
The airline added that it “accords foremost priority to the safety, security and wellbeing of our crew and staff members” and requested “the privacy of those involved is respected.”
The incident happened post shortly after midnight at Radisson Hotel London Heathrow. That night crew member of multiple AI flights were at the property. “The crew member was sleeping when an intruder attacked her in her room around 1.30 am. Startled, she woke up and screamed for help. He attacked her with a clothes hanger and dragged her on the floor as she tried to escape towards the door,” said sources.
Her colleagues immediately came to her rescue. “She was badly bruised and the intruder tried to escape. The police were called in and she was taken to a hospital. She could not fly back on duty and a friend from the crew stayed back with her,” sources add.
The police are probing the attack. “The intruder was arrested. He might have been a homeless person who walked into the hotel and managed to enter the room. The lack of security in the hotel is shocking. Luckily the crew member’s friends came to her rescue quickly and save her just in time,” sources say.
AI pilots stay in Central London and the cabin crew in hotels near Heathrow. This alleged attack took place just a day after an 11-year-old Australian girl was stabbed eight times while visiting Leicester Square as a tourist with her mother.
“The law and order situation in some parts of Britain, including London, as of now requires everyone there to be alert. We avoid going out alone after late evening these days in London. Only hotels with foolproof security systems must be selected for stay of crew members, especially when those properties are not in central but outer London,” said multiple pilots who have been operating flights to London. Heathrow is in Zone 6 as per London tube map, with Zone 1 being Central London.