Carriers ban lawmaker after Air India staffer assault

New Delhi - Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was on Friday barred from flying these four private Indian carriers.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was on Friday barred from flying by four private Indian carriers after his brazen assault on an Air India officer.
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.
It is likely to come out with a detailed statement on the issue soon.
Two more airlines - AirAsia and Vistara - also "banned" Gaikwad.
The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association also sought an unconditional apology from Gaikwad and threatened to direct its members "not to operate any flight which has Gaikwad on board".
While AirAsia said it "will support any decision taken by the industry", Vistara said "the concerned individual will be barred from flying on any of our flights with immediate effect".
Vistara said it was "in full solidarity" with Air India.
"The individual concerned will be barred from flying in any of our flights with immediate effect," a Vistara spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Budget carrier IndiGo on Friday 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 told PTI.
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.
Significantly, IndiGo, which is the largest domestic airline by market share, has reported a number of incidents involving unruly passengers on board its flight.
On Thursday Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad repeatedly hit a 60-year-old Air India officer with sandal in a brazen burst of fury 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.
"Air India is examining creation of no-fly list of unruly passenger on the lines of other carriers," a senior airline official had said post the assault incident, which had invited sharp reactions from various quarters.

• India