NEW DELHI: Following a shocking assault on its air hostess at her room in a London Hotel by an intruder earlier this week, Air India has decided to move its cabin crew to another property. The airline has asked the management of Radisson Red Hotel, Heathrow Airport, to ensure safety of its crew till they are relocated to some safer place. The cabin crew had been complaining of poor security at the Radisson Red Hotel, Heathrow Airport, for some time now to the airline and the hotel management, say sources.
It is learnt the crew felt unsafe at this property due to “no CCTV surveillance in many critical areas; no response of hotel staff to emergency calls; no staff present at reception very often; frequent random knocking on doors and windows from outside by strangers; dim lightning in hotel; staff entering room without knocking.” Sources add these issues were “raised with the hotel several times but they remained unresolved.As a result, despite locking room doors, they did not feel safe.”
On Sunday AI said in a statement: “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… 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,” AI statement said.
The airline says it is “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. 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.”
The young 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.
The incident happened post shortly after midnight at Radisson Red 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.
It is learnt the crew felt unsafe at this property due to “no CCTV surveillance in many critical areas; no response of hotel staff to emergency calls; no staff present at reception very often; frequent random knocking on doors and windows from outside by strangers; dim lightning in hotel; staff entering room without knocking.” Sources add these issues were “raised with the hotel several times but they remained unresolved.As a result, despite locking room doors, they did not feel safe.”
On Sunday AI said in a statement: “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… 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,” AI statement said.
The airline says it is “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. 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.”
The young 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.
The incident happened post shortly after midnight at Radisson Red 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.