‘Air India Food Cuts Like A Knife’: Passenger Finds Razor Blade In His In-Flight Meal; Airline Confirms Incident

A passenger aboard an Air India flight narrowly escaped serious injury as he almost swallowed a razor blade he allegedly found in his in-flight meal which was served to him on the Bengaluru-San Francisco flight.

In a post on X, Mathures Paul, a journalist by profession, narrated his harrowing ordeal, stating that he was travelling aboard the AI 175 flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco on June 9 when he shockingly discovered a metal blade in his in-flight meal.

Paul said he almost swallowed the blade while consuming the roasted sweet potato and fig chaat dish served aboard the flight.

“I got a feel of it (the blade) only after chewing the grub for a few seconds. Thankfully, no harm was done. Of course, the blame squarely lies with Air India’s catering service but the incident doesn’t help the image I have of Air India,” Paul wrote on X.

Air India food can cut like a knife. Hiding in its roasted sweet potato and fig chaat was a metal piece that looked like a blade. I got a feel of it only after chewing the grub for a few seconds. Thankfully, no harm was done. Of course, the blame squarely lies with Air India’s… pic.twitter.com/NNBN3ux28S

— Mathures Paul (@MathuresP) June 10, 2024

He said the stewardess apologised “for exactly three seconds and came back with a bowl of chickpeas.”

“What if the metal piece was in the food served to a child?,” he asked.

Paul claimed that Air India contacted him a few days after the incident 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,” the journalist asserted.

Meanwhile, responding to the incident, Air India issued a statement confirming that a “foreign object” was found in the passenger’s meal and said that they have a launched an investigation into the matter.

“Air India confirms that a foreign object was found in the meal of a guest aboard one of our flights. After investigation, it has been identified as coming from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of our catering partner,” Air India Chief Customer Experience Officer Rajesh Dogra said in the statement.

The airline had initiated a probe after the passenger posted on X that there was a blade-like metal object in the meal.

“We have investigated and identified the source as a vegetable processing machine used by our catering partner,”Dogra said. However, the airline official did not comment if the aggrieved customer was offered a compensatory business class trip as a compensation.

The airline has worked with its catering partner to strengthen measures to prevent any recurrence, including more frequent checking of the processor, especially after chopping any hard vegetables, Dogra said in the statement.

“Air India has engaged with the affected customer and deeply apologises for this experience,” he added. This is the second incident involving the food served on the Tata Group-owned airline’s long-haul flights.

The incident is the latest in a series of similar issues which Air India passengers have reportedly faced on the Tata Group-owned airliner in recent history. Complaints from flyers about Air India’s untidy cabins, poor meals, etc, can often be found strewn across social media.

Earlier on Saturday, a business-class passenger of the airline’s New Delhi-Newark flight had alleged that he was served “uncooked” food by the airline and the seats were dirty, describing the journey as “no less than a nightmare”.

(With inputs from agencies)