New Delhi: On Friday, Air India and the member airlines of the Federation of Indian Airlines such as IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air banned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad from flying on any of their aircraft with immediate effect. The ban comes a day after Gaikwad assaulted an Air India staffer over a seat.
“Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this Member of Parliament from flying on all our flights with immediate effect. We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety,” Ujjwal Dey, Associate Director of the Federation of Indian Airlines said in a statement issued.
In yet another blow, IndiGo has also cancelled a Delhi-Pune ticket booked for him to fly on Friday evening. Air India had first cancelled his ticket for the same on a 4 pm flight on Friday.
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“After that, an agent made a booking on IndiGo in the name of Ravindra Gaikwad for a 5.50 pm Delhi-Pune flight. All schedule Indian airlines have decided not to allow the MP on their flights and have alerted their reservations for this name. So, as soon as the booking was made on IndiGo, an alert was generated. After that the airline contacted the travel agent who had booked the ticket and he confirmed the same was for the MP,” said a source.
On learning this, IndiGo immediately cancelled Gaikwad’s Delhi-Pune ticket – the second such cancellation for the MP on this route for Friday. Airline officials have one advice for the Shiv Sena lawmaker: book a rail ticket or charter a plane to reach Pune.
The government is examining the legality of this move. “The airlines have advised us that they would not be willing to carry this particular passenger (Gaikwad). This is an action they have taken independently and we are examining it. Any action undertaken has to be lawful; it has to fit in with the general provisions of the law and the Aircraft Act. We are seeing how this whole approach should work. We have to see if this action of the airlines is within the framework of law,” said Jayant Sinha, Union minister of state for aviation.