Air India passenger finds blade in meal, airline says it came from machine used by catering partner

Passenger Mathures Paul wrote on social media that the airline later offered him a business class trip to any destination within next 1 year, which he called a 'bribe' he didn't accept.

Air India passenger finds blade in meal | Credit: X(formerly Twitter)/@MathuresP

New Delhi: After an Air India passenger complained he had found a metal blade in his meal onboard a flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco, the airline has said that the “foreign object” came from a vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of its catering partner.

Passenger Mathures Paul took to social media platform X Sunday to detail the ordeal, and even accused the airline of “bribing” him, which he did not accept, he said.

Paul, who was travelling on AI 175 from Bengaluru to San Francisco on 9 June, posted a photo of what looked like a sharp metal object in his food.

I had a trip from Bangalore to San Francisco (AI 175) on June 9. In the bowl of fig chaat they served a blade. And 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. The stewardess apologised for… pic.twitter.com/Wqfk2WwCxx

— Mathures Paul (@MathuresP) June 16, 2024

Paul then said the airlines mailed him in a few days to say he could take a business class trip to any destination within the next one year. “That is a bribe and I don’t accept it,” he wrote in the 16 June post.

Meanwhile, the airlines confirmed that “a foreign object was found in the meal of a guest aboard one of our flights”.

Chief Customer Experience Officer Rajesh Dogra said in a statement: “After investigation, it has been identified as coming from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of our catering partner.”

“We have worked with our catering partner to strengthen measures to prevent any recurrence, including more frequent checking of the processor especially after chopping of any hard vegetable,” Dogra added.

Sharp objects such as knives, scissors, blades and Swiss army knives, are prohibited in carry-on luggage to ensure flight safety. ThePrint has reached aviation regulator DGCA for comment on this lapse. This report will be updated when a response is received.

This is not the first time Air India — which has ordered a staggering 470 jets to take on local rivals such as IndiGo — is under scrutiny for its service. Just a day before, on 15 June, another passenger highlighted the “horror story” of flying from New Delhi to Newark (AI 105).

Vineeth K, in a long post on X, said he chose to fly Air India as they offer direct flights and booked a business class ticket. However, the seats were “not clean and worn off”. Of the 35 seats, at least five were not functional, he wrote, adding the food was stale and uncooked. Additionally, his luggage was also damaged.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)