TMC MP Dola Sen delays Air India flight by 40 minutes over seating arrangement

Following the row over Shiv Sena MP assaulting Air India staff, another incident of unruly behavior came to the fore with TMC’s Dola Sen allegedly delaying Air India’s Delhi-Kolkata flight by nearly 40 minutes after an argument over seating arrangement.

The MP had booked front row seats on makemytrip.com and had paid extra for those seats, said Air India.

But she could only be booked on emergency exit seats, which also have similar leg room.

When Sen boarded the plane with her wheelchair-bound mother, she was told by the cabin crew that rules do not permit wheelchair-bound passengers to sit on emergency exit seats, said Air India.

Also read: AI lifts fly ban on Shiv Sena MP Gaikwad after receiving letter from aviation ministry

The airline said the MP didn’t mention that she was being accompanied by a wheelchair-bound passenger at the time of booking tickets.

Following this, the TMC MP “shouted and screamed” at the cabin crew, the airline claimed.

This forced the pilot to come out of the cockpit, who offered business class seats to the MP’s mother but Sen declined.

Sen could not be immediately reached for comments.

Also read: Gaikwad fly ban: Shiv Sena MP voices regret in a letter, no reaction from Air India yet