New Delhi: Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad may have shown regret through a letter on Thursday, but the Air India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) does not want to fly with him on board.
The AICCA said on Friday that flying Gaikwad will be a safety risk and they would rather not fly with him on board.
Air India again cancelled Gaikwad’s Delhi to Mumbai ticket for 17 April and Mumbai to Delhi ticket for 24 April 24, the airline said on Friday.
“We as Cabin Crew, must only point out that Mr. Ravindra Gaikwad is and will continue to be a risk to Flight Safety and flight Operations and to Cabin Crew safety on board, and hence the government must think long and hard about letting him back on. In fact, unless he tenders an unconditional apology to AI employees, and undertakes in writing to abide by the Chicago and Tokyo Conventions & Rules of the Air and follow all Cabin safety and public behaviour norms, we must not let him on board,” Sanjay Lazar, general secretary of AICCA wrote in an email to Air India chairman and its management team.
The commander of any flight under international flying regulations can offload any passenger if he is not comfortable flying with him or her on board. The crew can also handcuff such a passenger mid-flight and isolate him till the time of landing.
Any move to allow him before an unconditional apology will be demoralizing, Lazar said.
Gaikwad had issued a letter of regret to aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Thursday but stopped short of an apology to the 60-year-old Air India staffer who he beat up last month with slippers or to Air India itself.
“It would also crush the morale of all employees and indeed all fair-minded Indians and other domestic airlines who watched the situation in Air India, to take a cue as to how the company would deal with this situation. We Do NOT wish to be flying such a person,” Lazar said. “I think our Government will do well to remember that the World is Watching, not only what Air India did, but also what the Indian government does, to see how serious it is about Aviation Safety and respect for the universally acclaimed Rules of the Air.”
Shiv Sena also heckled civil aviation minister Raju in Parliament on Thursday. The soft-spoken Raju had to be escorted out after ministers Smriti Irani, Jayant Sinha and Rajnath Singh intervened.
“It was sadder even to see that parochial party based support for this dreadful behaviour by some respected senior MPs, whom we have known since long, and who were once associated with Air India and its Unions, try and pressure the Hon. Minister in Parliament,” Lazar said.
