Lufthansa flight attendants accused of insulting Indians. Paytm CEO reacts

Lufthansa crew has been accused of racism against Indians (Representational image)

A Reddit user has alleged that the crew on his recent Lufthansa flight openly discriminated against Indians, especially the elderly and those who could not speak English. The Reddit user identified himself as a New York resident who frequently visits his family in India. “I've flown regularly on Air India, Emirates and now for the first time, Lufthansa,” he wrote in a Reddit post which is viral on the platform.

In his post, the man highlighted several incidents where the crew of German airline Lufthansa belittled, insulted or was blatantly rude to Indian passengers on the US to India flight. The problem was not limited to cabin crew, even the ground staff was insulting when approached.

“One such an example: I asked an airline representative where I could fill my water bottle in Frankfurt, he replied by saying ‘Do I look like the information desk to you, don't ask me’” the man recalled.

He went on to list several other instances of racism he witnessed first-hand – “On my flight to India, two crew members would insult passengers, specifically those who were older and could not speak English that well. I saw this occur multiple times with different passengers sitting in front of me,” he wrote.

Avoid Travelling Lufthansa
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Other crew members were told to “wait your turn” for simple requests like asking for a napkin.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa messed up the catering order and delivered vegan meals to everyone who had ordered vegetarian food. “This same crew member went on a rant near me, talking to a customer about why they're ordering food if they're not going to eat it,” the Reddit user wrote, noting that the vegan meals on board were almost inedible.

In yet another shocking incident from the same flight, a woman who ordered vegetarian food was served a chicken meal. When she opened her meal box and requested a replacement, she was told it could not be replaced as the box had already been opened. “You don't you to a restaurant, eat the food, and ask for it to be taken back,” a crew member allegedly told the woman.

“Two crew members – while completing the service – would be talking in German right in front of customers they just served, rolling their eyes and sneering,” the New Yorker further alleged.

Paytm boss reacts

The post has been widely shared online – not just on Reddit but also on other social media platforms like X. In fact, this is not an isolated incident. Several other posts have raised allegations of racism against Lufthansa in the past.

On X, Bengaluru-based techie Shantanu Goel agreed with the anonymous Redditor as he shared a screenshot of the post. “All this behavior, including downright rude and idiotic staff is unfortunately not an aberration but quite common on Lufthansa, which is why I never fly it,” Goel wrote.

His post reached Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who said that many Indians would prefer not to fly European airlines.

Can't wait Air India and Indigo to go places -- many of us would rather not fly Europian airlines. https://t.co/mVZxO1Qu6Z

— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) January 25, 2024

“Can't wait Air India and Indigo to go places -- many of us would rather not fly Europian airlines,” wrote Sharma.

Sharma may have his own bone to pick with the German airline. In 2017, the Paytm CEO had shared a tweet slamming Lufthansa. “Lufthansa sucks. Priority baggage and not offloaded in an hour of landing. Delhi staff says, everyday affair,” he had written.