Kunal Kamra-Arnab Goswami Incident: Captain Asks IndiGo, Why He Wasn't Consulted Before Banning Comedian

The pilot-in-command of the IndiGo flight in which journalist Arnab Goswami was allegedly heckled by Kunal Kamra has asked airline's management why he was not consulted before the carrier took action against the comedian. Kamra was banned fron flying with IndiGo for six months after he posted a video of the incident on social media.

The pilot told IndiGo management that he was "disheartened" to learn the carrier took action against the comedian without consulting him and solely on the basis of social media posts.

"As captain of 6E5317 Mumbai-Lucknow flight on January 28, I do not find... events reportable in any way. Mr. Kamra's behaviour, while unsavoury, was not qualifying of a level 1 unruly passenger. Indeed, we pilots can all attest to incidents similar and/or worse in nature that were not deemed unruly," the captain said in his email to the airline's management which has been accessed by PTI.

A Level 1 breach is the use of threatening or abusive language towards a crew member or another passenger. This includes physical gestures and verbal harassment. According to the rules, the punishment for this level of misconduct is a ban of up to three months.

When asked about the pilot-in-command's email, IndiGo said, "We have received the relevant statements and the internal committee has initiated the investigation regarding this incident."

Kunal Kamra has been banned by four airlines after his confrontation with Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami aboard the Indigo flight. Kamra had posted a video on Twitter Tuesday where he is seen questioning Goswami on his "journalism" and political views. Following this, Indigo released a statement that said it was banning Kamra for six months due to his "unacceptable behaviour" and also advised passengers “to refrain from indulging in personal slander whilst onboard”.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri then took note of the incident and urged other airlines to impose similar restrictions on Kamra. Since then. three other airlines — AirIndia, SpiceJet and GoAir — has banned Kunal Kamra for an  indefinite period.