It’s holiday season, not just on our roads, but also in the skies. And if sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic is painful, sitting on a clogged toilet at 35,000 feet is a special kind of hell. Even if you’ve been spared the experience, you’ve almost certainly read horror stories, in media and social media. So, we have a suggestion for not just Tewolde Gebremariam, Air India’s new CEO, who this week made his first major public appearance, but all airline bosses. Speaking at Aviation India summit 2026, he underlined the airline’s big and long-term upgrade plans, to boost its international operations. But one thing that will lift the brand right away, is providing professional janitorial services for every long-haul flight.It might sound odd at first, but hear us out. Right now cabin crews are assigned the responsibility to inspect toilets. IATA guidance suggests they should do regular lavatory checks, typically every 20-30 minutes. But cabin crew are already taking care of meal services, mediating seat-recline disputes, occasionally managing misbehaving passengers, on top of all their safety duties. When airlines happily invest fortunes in lie-flat beds, mood lighting, and celebrity-chef menus, why leave the most basic human necessity to divine intervention. Especially on 6-16 hour flights, a dedicated sanitation steward – we suggest this as a job title that’s both to-the-point and respectful – wouldn’t just keep things spotless. They can also gently educate passengers on what not to flush, before things go south in the loo.Last year, a Chicago-Delhi Air India flight was forced to turn around, after eight of its 12 toilets became “unserviceable”. Last month, a similar plumbing crisis forced a Madrid-Dallas American Airlines flight to divert to New York. And there are other such cases. What we are suggesting actually serves a global need. Sanitation management is not a priority for airlines, because it isn’t considered critical for airworthiness. But clean toilets are part of their most elemental duty of care, not some optional luxury. Do it before, as they say, sh*t hits the fan.
आपण सर्वच जण कोणत्या ना कोणत्या अडचणीतून जात असतो — मग तो विषय आयकर असो वा जीएसटी वा आपल्याला बँकेकडून मिळणाऱ्या सुविधा बाबत असो. एव्हढेच नव्हे तर आपण आपल्या आरोग्य विमा पॉलिसी बाबतही चाचपडत असतो. पॉलिसी तर असते पण त्या पॉलिसीचा काय उपयोग असे वाटण्याचा प्रसंग येतो. तसेच आपल्याला माल व्यवस्थित मिळाला नाही –तर मग काय करायचे — थोडक्यात काय आपण असहाय्य असतो. काहींना काही उपायाची दिशा जरी समजली तरी उपयोग होऊ शकतो. त्या दिशेने हा एक प्रयत्न — विनंती — या संकेतस्थळावर जे काही सांगितले गेले आहे त्याचा हेतू आपणास पुढे काय करायचे याबाबतचे मार्गदर्शन आहे. प्रत्यक्ष कारवाई करण्याच्या दिशेने पाऊल उचलण्याआधी आपण आपले वकील किंवा त्या त्या क्षेत्रातील तज्ञ व्यक्तींचे सल्ला घ्यावी ही विनंती.
