Not just Air India: Airline association bans unapologetic Sena MP Gaikwad

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the MP for 'assaulting' its duty manage

 

An association of airlines has today decided that Ravindra Gaikwad, a Shiv Sena MP who assaulted a staff member of Air India, will not be allowed on flights, say sources, according to a report published by NDTV.

Air India has already blacklisted the MP. Tho move has been also supported by budget carrier IndiGo which said it will support any move which bars unruly passengers from flying, a day after Air India said it was mulling preparing a no-fly list.

"We will support a no-fly list," IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh told PTI.

Ravindra Gaikwad was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi and hit airline's duty manager Shivkumar with his slippers several times when the latter urged him to deplane at the Indira Gandhi airport.|  Watch: You can watch the video here

Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.

"I dare the Delhi police to arrest me...I will not apologize, he (Air India manager) must come to me and apologize," Gaikwad told reporters on Friday, claiming that "a 60-year-old man must know how to behave" and suggesting that his party will stand by him. 

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the Shiv Sena MP for "assaulting" its duty manager at Delhi airport, an airline spokesperson said (read full story)

Govt mull steps to check unruly passengers as Sena MP assaults AI staffer

The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers

The government is working on an institutional mechanism to check "undesirable flight behaviour" while Air India is mulling preparing a no-fly list for unruly passengers.

This follows an incident at the IGI airport n which a Shiv Sena MP allegedly assaulted a 60-year-old airline staffer.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said such regrettable incidents should never happen again.

"We are also working on creating institutional mechanisms to check undesirable flight behaviour or unruly passengers," Raju said in a series of tweets.

Following the incident, the national carrier is also looking to have a no-fly list.

"Air India is examining creation of no-fly list of unruly passengers on the lines of other carriers," a senior airline official said.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi, hit the airline's duty manager Sukumar with his slipper several times when the latter urged him to deplane after the lawmaker refused to do so once the plane landed at the Delhi airport.

"The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers several times," an airline source said.

Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.

In recent times, there have been reported incidents of unruly behaviour by the fliers onboard various airlines.(Click here..)