Not just Air India: Airline association bans unapologetic Sena MP Gaikwad

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the MP for 'assaulting' its duty manage

An association of airlines has today decided that Ravindra Gaikwad, a Shiv Sena MP who assaulted a staff member of Air India, will not be allowed on flights, say sources, according to a report published by NDTV.
 

Air India has already blacklisted the MP. Tho move has been also supported by budget carrier IndiGo which 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.

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

Ravindra Gaikwad was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi and hit airline's duty manager Shivkumar with his slippers several times when the latter urged him to deplane at the Indira Gandhi airport.
 

"The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers several times," airline sources said.

“You’re our role model no… you’re our representative, you’re our democratic leader, we have elected you,” a female airline staffer is heard as saying to the MP, in the video, as reported by Hindustan Times. The video was put out by news agency ANI on Thursday night.

Watch: You can watch the video here

Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.

"I dare the Delhi police to arrest me...I will not apologize, he (Air India manager) must come to me and apologize," Gaikwad told reporters on Friday, claiming that "a 60-year-old man must know how to behave" and suggesting that his party will stand by him. 

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the Shiv Sena MP for "assaulting" its duty manager at Delhi airport, an airline spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson said that the airline has filed another complaint with the police against Gaikwad for allegedly delaying its flight by over 40 minutes by not vacating the aircraft for cleaning.

Police said the officer, Sukumar, has been sent for medical examination and based on its report a case will be registered.
 

#WATCH: Sukumar, the Air India staff member who was beaten up by Shiv Sena MP R Gaikwad wants an FIR to be registered against Gaikwad. pic.twitter.com/6liOLOIjMg

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 23, 2017

Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who is a TDP MP from Andhra Pradesh, condemned the incident saying that that such physical assaults will not be "encouraged".