Ruckus On My Air India Flight After Russian Man Bumps Elderly American Woman During Boarding

I observed quite a ruckus on my Air India flight from Delhi to Dubai after a Russian man bumped into an older American woman during boarding.

A Boarding Bump On My Air India Flight Leads To Heated Cabin Exchange

My flight was operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and business class passengers were invited to board first through the forward boarding door (wheelchairs through the rear boarding door). I was first in line (hoping to take pictures for my flight review) and bolted down the jetbridge.

I had the cabin to myself for quite some time…fairly odd…but I soon understood why.

All of a sudden an older American woman and a younger Russian man entered the cabin, arguing. The woman sat across from me while the man sat on the opposite side of the cabin. I quickly discerned what the matter was.

She was walking with a cane and had apparently been walking too slowly for the man, who tried to get around her. In so doing, he bumped her as he pushed past her. She was irate.

She lectured him for bumping her and ridiculed him for wanting to board so quickly when the flight could not depart until everyone was onboard. Rather than to ask for forgiveness for bumping her, he sneered at her and made a fist with his thumb between his middle and index fingers (which I later learned is the equivalent of extending the middle finger in Russian culture).

He was traveling with a companion and said something to him in Russian, shaking his head. She then called out his poor behavior and linked it to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine:

“You’re just like Putin. You think you can walk over people and push them aside if they get in your way.”

Bravo. She could have called him a “dirty Russian” or said “you’re all the same” but instead she seized on his link to Putin in a way that was not racist.

He just laughed.

I was about to start recording but decided to try and calm the woman down instead. I told her to forget the loser over there and just to have a seat and relax. We chatted for a bit and I learned she was a feisty New Yorker.

And thankfully that was the end of it. Almost. She called out “tacky” loudly once more while seated and I thought that might trigger another round (he certainly heard it and looked over at her), but he said nothing.

When we landed in Dubai, he jumped up and was first off the plane…not sure if he had a connection or just wanted to avoid further conflict, but he disappeared quickly.

I don’t blame the woman for being upset, though I’m not sure engaging him did any good. I know it can be upsetting to get behind a slow person (or drive behind a slow car), but in a narrow jetbridge, you just wait…you cannot push your way through (especially when you make physical contract). His behavior was truly tacky.

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