Army veteran slams IndiGo for VIP culture, claims was 'bumped off' his paid seat

Hitting out at the airlines, Major General (retired) Birender Dhanoa took to Twitter on Tuesday and claimed he was 'bumped off' his paid seat to make room for 'a former bureaucrat and party'

FP Trending February 15, 2022 18:47:40 IST

Army veteran slams IndiGo for VIP culture, claims was 'bumped off' his paid seat

Representational Image. Reuters

A former Indian army officer has slammed IndiGo airlines and alleged that he was "bumped off" his paid seat in order to make room for "a former bureaucrat and party".

Major General (retired) Birender Dhanoa took to Twitter today, 15 February, to narrate the incident and hit out at the airline company. He also asserted that he would take action against the company. The airlines later issued an apology over the incident.

According to the retired Major General, the incident occurred in the flight 6E2091, which connects Goa and New Delhi. The veteran claimed that IndiGo was "playing fast and loose with seat allocation under VIP pressure. They bumped me off my paid seat because some former bureaucrat and "party" couldn't be anywhere except row 1".

Indigo playing fast and loose with seat allocation under VIP pressure. They bumped me off my paid seat because some former bureaucrat and “party” couldn’t be anywhere except row 1. @IndiGo6E you will be hearing from me. Flight is 6E2091.

— Birender Dhanoa (@bsdhanoa) February 15, 2022

The retired Army officer added that after he was reassigned another seat, he met another person who claimed that even he had been shifted from the first row to make space for some "aged people".

Well to add to the odd incident I had on @IndiGo6E, I wasn’t the only pax who found himself on a different seat, another gentleman next to me in the middle of the aircraft confirmed that he too was “shifted” from row 1, which he’d paid for, to accommodate some “aged” people‍♂️

— Birender Dhanoa (@bsdhanoa) February 15, 2022

The veteran also stated that after the incident; he lost any regard he may have for the company.

The incident narrated by the retired Major General prompted a flurry of outrage against the airlines, with many social media users slamming the company for complying with VIP culture.

Some users claimed that they had faced similar incidents in the past.

A relative had a similar incident a few years ago. Indigo settled the matter by offering her a ₹38,000 travel voucher valid for 1 year. (After 2 months of negotiations)

So be prepared for something similar as a settlement offer.

— Bandit (@BanditOnYour6) February 15, 2022

Many people tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and asked them to end VIP culture in the country.

Sir any plans to finish off this VIP culture else we will never become a developed country @narendramodi @PMOIndia @JM_Scindia

— Prashant Mathur (@prashant4021) February 15, 2022

In an update on the incident, the veteran replied to query on Twitter and stated that he had been offered a refund for the seat.

IndiGo had earlier apologised for the inconvenience and stated that their representative would be in touch.

We are sorry for the inconvenience caused, Sir. Our team will be in touch with you on your registered contact number. ~Keshav

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) February 15, 2022

According to the website of Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Major General (retired) Birender Dhanoa was commissioned in 1983 into the army's Armoured Corps. He has commanded an armoured brigade and an infantry division on the western border in the course of his career.

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