A Shiv Sena MP, Ravindra Gaikwad has been in the news over last twenty four hours for assaulting an Air India crew member. Gaikwad in a video was seen hitting a 60 year old staff member with a sandal. After the video came out the MP admitted to hitting the staff with no remorse.
The Mp was upset for being seated in the economy section of the aircraft. The aircraft had no business seats following which Gaikwad had beaten up an Air India staffer “25 times” with his sandals. The MP also tried to throw the crew member out of the aircraft on arrival in Delhi Thursday.
On Thursday, Gaikwad challenged the airlines and said that they can not take any action against him. He was caught on the video saying, ‘Will they file a case against me? Let them as I have many cases against me and no action can be taken against me as I am an MP.’ On Friday, in a rare act of unity, all the private Indian airlines have barred the MP from traveling with them. Air India has also canceled his return ticket from New Delhi to Pune on the 4 P.M., flight for Friday. This is a first of its kind ban in India, which leaves him with the only option of traveling back by train.
In a joint AI-FIA statement, Ujjwal Dey had said, “Air India and Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA, which comprises IndiGo, Jet, SpiceJet and GoAir) member airlines have decided to ban this MP 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.”
The statement, which is a rare show of unity also said, “AI and the member airlines of the FIA condemn the assault on an AI staff member by a passenger who happens to be an MP+ on March 23, 2017. The airlines demand that strict action is taken against the MP by law enforcement agencies. We believe that an assault on any one of our employees is an assault on all of us and on ordinary law abiding citizens of our country who work hard to earn a living.”
“In the interest of the safety and security of our colleagues and other customers, we also propose the promulgation of a ‘no fly’ list which shall include the names of all unruly passengers. Such customers are not welcome on our carriers and we seek the support of the government and security agencies to enforce such a ‘no-fly’ list,” it added.
The Airlines expressed concern over Gaikwad flying with them as they felt it might lead to security or safety concerns after several employees expressed resentment. The divided Airline Industry was brought to unity with the MPs hauteur.
Ajay Singh, the Spice Jet chairman said: “SpiceJet supports a no fly list to bar unruly flyers who are a safety hazard for not just the crew, but even the travelers. The government needs to act on this soon. An attack on our employees and crew is an attack on us and we strongly condemn such incidents.” IndiGo also issued a statement supporting a no fly list for unruly passengers. Till date Indian carriers have never barred an individual from flying with them unanimously. Gaikwad is the first person to be barred from all the private airlines. The airlines expressed that his behavior and lack of remorse indicated that he is bound to get violent again.
A.G. Raju, the Aviation Minister had tweeted: “We are also working on creating institutional mechanisms to check undesirable flight behaviour or unruly passengers. Such regrettable incidents should never happen again.”
It is yet to be seen if Vistara and AirAsia India, and the private airlines of Tata Group which are not members of FIA, will also bar the travel of Gaikwad from their flights.
