Air India continued its ban on Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad by cancelling his air tickets once again on Friday, a day later he expressed ‘regret’ for the incident involving his alleged unruly behaviour with staff of the airline in Delhi airport last month.
Air India cancelled Mr. Gaikwad’s Delhi-Mumbai ticket booked for April 17 and Mumbai-Delhi ticket for April 24, an Air India spokesperson said. “Mr. Gaikwad booked the ticket from Air India’s website at 5 a.m. today. His ticket was immediately cancelled,” he said.
Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani met Minister of State Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha on this issue late on Thursday night, say sources and the former is learnt to have told the Minister that the airline will continue to impose a ban on the MP until he apologises to its staff. “We will stick to our stand. Expressing regret won’t work. We want an unconditional apology from Mr. Gaikwad to the airline and its staff,” a senior Air India official said.
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The Air India Cabin Crew Association also wrote to Air India chief on Thursday night refusing to fly him until he gives an unconditional apology.
Mr. Gaikwad on Thursday wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju, expressing “regret” over the incident on board an Air India flight on March 23. The MP has been accused of assaulting the airline’s officer with his slippers. He requested the Minister’s intervention in lifting the flying ban on him imposed by Air India and private airlines.
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Domestic airlines came together last month to impose a ban on Mr. Gaikwad after the assault on a 60-year-old Air India duty manager, who urged the former to deboard the Pune-Delhi flight.
The letter came at the end of a day of drama on Thursday that included a statement by Mr. Gaikwad in the Lok Sabha and an adjournment of the House forced by Shiv Sena MPs who surrounded Mr. Raju when he made no move to lift the ban on the MP.