“I am very upset with the way Air India or the Civil Aviation Minister has clarified because we are colleagues and we are responsible for the misconduct of any of our government officials or PSUs like Air India”.
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Mr Rijiju said he was not aware that people had been offloaded for him.
The minister said he was to return to Delhi by helicopter but couldn’t due to bad weather. Now, to top it all, Air India was found allegedly putting paid passengers to inconvenience due to preference for VVIPs and their tantrums.
At the same time, the minister sought to brush aside the matter. However, following mediation the VIPs were allowed to board, much to the chagrin of the passengers. “This step would have never been appreciated if brought to the notice on the same day”, the official said.
Recently, an Air India flight to United States was allegedly delayed by around an hour which had Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a passenger.
“The pilot came rushing down from the aircraft ladder and told Rijiju that it was not appreciable to delay the departure of the aircraft”.
Udhampur, July 02: Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh has filed a complaint against Air India for the “erratic air services” faced by the people of Ladakh. He discovered that he had to ferry back a full flight and there was already chaos at the airport because three passengers with confirmed tickets were not being issued boarding passes. “Nor any changes done in the boarding or de-boarding procedures even for VIP travellers”, a senior Air India official told IANS here.
Sources say the pilot is now concerned that he may be punished just for doing his job.
“In fact, the fault lies with Singh who tried to browbeat him, flaunting his political status”.
By now, Captain Saharan was getting anxious.
“Power seems to have got into the head of the BJP and its leaders, and this begins from the civil aviation minister who has been brazenly carrying inflammable matchboxes on board flights, and his explanation is that he had always carried one”, said Congress spokesperson P C Chacko.
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He said if any rules had been violated, “we will ask why it happened and that it should not happen”.
