Air India venture dismisses 4 senior executives over viral video of office party just days after Ahmedabad plane crash
Air India on Saturday dismissed four senior executives of Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS), the ground-handling subsidiary associated with the airlines, after a video of an office party went viral on social media platforms.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the celebration reportedly took place at the company's Gurugram office, just days after an Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashed seconds after taking off, claiming 260 lives in total.
Multiple videos showed office staff celebrating and dancing on several Bollywood songs. The videos drew a sharp criticism online over the timing of the office party.
In response to the online criticism, AISATS terminated the senior personnel involved and issued warnings to several other employees, the report added.
AISATS operates as a 50-50 joint venture between Air India Ltd, now under the Tata Group, and SATS Ltd, a major provider of gateway services and food solutions.
Responding to the backlash, an AISATS spokesperson told NDTV, 'At AISATS, we stand in solidarity with families affected by the tragic loss of AI 171 and deeply regret the lapse in judgment reflected in a recent internal video.'
'The behaviour does not align with our values, and firm disciplinary action has been taken against those responsible as we reaffirm our commitment to empathy, professionalism, and accountability," the spokesperson added.
A London-bound Air India flight crashed into a hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the city on June 12, killing 241 on board and several others on the ground. One passenger miraculously survived.
More than two weeks after the Ahmedabad plane crash, the DNA test has ascertained the identity of the last victim, and the death toll in the tragedy now stands at 260, officials said on Saturday. The mortal remains of the last victim were handed over to the family, they said. The medical authorities had earlier pegged the fatality count at 270, news agency PTI reported.
"The DNA matching of the last body of the Air India plane crash victim has been done. The victim's mortal remains have been handed over to relatives," Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Dr Rakesh Joshi said. "With this, the death toll in the plane crash is 260," he said, adding that three patients, who suffered injuries in the air crash, were undergoing treatment in the civil hospital.
According to the PTI report, an official release said the DNA matching process was very complicated as a large number of bodies had to be identified since they were beyond recognition. In such cases, the DNA matching of victims with their family members takes months. But in the case of the Air India plane crash, identification of samples was completed in about two weeks, it said.
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