Air India is investigating after a passenger claimed he found a metal blade in their in-flight meal on a recent flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco. Journalist Mathures Paul, who was on board flight AI 175 on June 9, had shared his harrowing experience on social media.
Paul stated he found the blade in a fig chaat dish served by Air India’s in-flight catering. "I realised it was in my food after I chewed it for two or three seconds. As soon as I spat it out, I realised what the object was," Paul wrote in a post on X. "The stewardess apologised for exactly three seconds and came back with a bowl of chickpeas."
Paul further said, "It is dangerous to have a blade on any flight. Second, it could have cut through my tongue. Third, what if a child was eating this food."
He alleged that a few days later, Air India wrote to him and offered him a "free business class trip to anywhere in the world" as compensation, but he turned it down. "That is a bribe and I don’t accept it," Paul said.
Air India, owned by the Tata Group, acknowledged the incident in a statement, with Chief Customer Experience Officer Rajesh Dogra confirming the presence of a "foreign object" in the meal.
"We have investigated and identified the source as a vegetable processing machine used by our catering partner," Dogra said. "We are working with them to strengthen safety measures, including more frequent checks of the processor, especially after chopping hard vegetables."
Dogra did not comment on Paul's claim that Air India offered a complimentary business class flight as compensation.
Air India is facing mounting criticism from passengers for a series of in-flight problems. Disgruntled flyers have taken to social media to complain about unclean cabins, malfunctioning entertainment systems, and poor quality meals.
Moreover, business class passengers have reported issues particularly concerning the high cost of tickets not matching the level of service received. Air India has apologised and promised to investigate the complaints internally.
