If a catalyst was needed to create a ‘No Fly’ list of unruly air passengers in India, Thursday's incident involving a VIP flyer hitting an airline staffer should provide enough impetus for it. According to a complaint filed by R Sukumar, Duty Manager of Air India, Shiv Sena MP Ravinder Gaikwad refused to get off a flight which had landed at Delhi from Pune at around 09:40 on Thursday morning. Sukumar said that when he asked the MP to disembark from the plane, since the flight had to leave for Goa and 115 passengers were waiting to get on to it, the MP became abusive. Gaikwad allegedly also had a problem with Sukumar speaking in English. Then the MP (by his own admission) started beating the Duty Manager. Sukumar has ended his complaint by stating “God save our country if this is the culture and behaviour of our MPs.”
Speaking to TV channels, Gaikwad did not once deny that he had assaulted an employee of Air India. He was also seen bragging about how he had hit the airline staffer 25 times. Gaikwad was also heard saying that he will file a complaint with the Civil Aviation Minister A Gajapathi Raju as well as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Neither Gaikwad nor Air India is a stranger to controversy involving flights and MPs. An airline veteran says there are quite a few instances of MPs delaying flights, demanding special treatment. But anyone physically assaulting an airline employee is still not a common occurrence. Perhaps Gaikwad has bitten off more than he can chew this time?
On its part, Air India first did what comes naturally to any 'sarkari' company in our country – it sought a report.
The report submitted by Deputy GM (Commercial), Harendra Singh, says that the MP demanded Air India’s CMD or another director level officer to come on board the aircraft and sort out his issue. This implies that he didn't want mere airport in-charges to address his grievances, he wanted topmost officer running Air India. Would the MP have made the same demands if he were travelling by a private airline, one wonders. But what exactly caused the MP to fly into a rage? The report by Harendra Singh says that the MP wanted to know why he was asked to fly economy class when he held a ticket for business class.
Representational image. Reuters
An Air India spokesperson says an FIR has been lodged in this incident, and added that Air India is “examining the creation of a no-fly list of unruly passengers.” Sources tell Firstpost that a second FIR has also been lodged by the airline, accusing the MP of delaying the flight. If a no-fly list is created after this unprecedented and boorish behaviour by an elected representative of the people, perhaps we will have to thank Gaikwad. Such a list would not only create some apprehension in the minds of people about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour in the skies, it would also arm airlines to better deal with nuisances.
Source:-Firstpost
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Speaking to TV channels, Gaikwad did not once deny that he had assaulted an employee of Air India. He was also seen bragging about how he had hit the airline staffer 25 times. Gaikwad was also heard saying that he will file a complaint with the Civil Aviation Minister A Gajapathi Raju as well as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Neither Gaikwad nor Air India is a stranger to controversy involving flights and MPs. An airline veteran says there are quite a few instances of MPs delaying flights, demanding special treatment. But anyone physically assaulting an airline employee is still not a common occurrence. Perhaps Gaikwad has bitten off more than he can chew this time?
On its part, Air India first did what comes naturally to any 'sarkari' company in our country – it sought a report.
The report submitted by Deputy GM (Commercial), Harendra Singh, says that the MP demanded Air India’s CMD or another director level officer to come on board the aircraft and sort out his issue. This implies that he didn't want mere airport in-charges to address his grievances, he wanted topmost officer running Air India. Would the MP have made the same demands if he were travelling by a private airline, one wonders. But what exactly caused the MP to fly into a rage? The report by Harendra Singh says that the MP wanted to know why he was asked to fly economy class when he held a ticket for business class.
Representational image. Reuters
An Air India spokesperson says an FIR has been lodged in this incident, and added that Air India is “examining the creation of a no-fly list of unruly passengers.” Sources tell Firstpost that a second FIR has also been lodged by the airline, accusing the MP of delaying the flight. If a no-fly list is created after this unprecedented and boorish behaviour by an elected representative of the people, perhaps we will have to thank Gaikwad. Such a list would not only create some apprehension in the minds of people about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour in the skies, it would also arm airlines to better deal with nuisances.
Source:-Firstpost
View more:-Bulk sms Software