Air India cancels Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's return ticket; IndiGo, GoAir, SpiceJet, Jet Airways ban him from flying

Air India has cancelled Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's return ticket to Pune for today (Friday), according to the airline sources.

In another development, Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban Shiv Sena MP R Gaikwad from flying on all their flights with immediate effect. They have issued a joint statement on this decision.

On Thursday, Gaikwad had repeatedly hit a 60-year-old Air India officer with sandal over being unable to travel business class despite having insisted on boarding an all-economy flight.

The national carrier has filed two FIRs against the MP, while the Shiv Sena has sought an explanation from him.

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Later, the MP had said he won't apologise for assaulting the Air India duty manager asking 'what was there to repent.'

Gaikwad has also written a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister alleging the Air India employee misbehaved with him, and complained of 'poor service' by the airline service.

After Air India's decision, other airlines like IndiGo, GoAir, SpiceJet and Jet Airways also have banned MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

The Federation of Indian Airlines, which has Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir as its members, has taken a "strong view of the incident and accordingly taken a decision to bar Gaikwad from flying", an FIA source said.

The FIA will not allow the Sena MP to fly on its member carriers, the source said.

Earlier, Budget carrier IndiGo had 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 for such people.

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

Read | Who is Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad who punched 60-yr-old Air India Duty Manager

Statement by Air India and the Federation of Indian Airlines 

Air India and the member airlines of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) that includes IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air, condemn the assault on an Air India staff member by a passenger who happens to be a Member of Parliament on March 23, 2017. The airlines demand that strict action be taken against the Member of Parliament 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.

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.

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.

Ujjwal Dey
Associate Director
Federation of Indian Airlines

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