IndiGo, AI Suspend Kunal Kamra From Flying Post Arnab Row. It May Be In Violation Of DGCA Rules
National carrier Air India has become the second airline to suspend stand up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with them. This came after Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri advised airlines to impose restrictions on Kamra. On Wednesday another private airline SpiceJet also announced that Kamra will be banned from flying until further notice.
National carrier Air India has become the second airline to suspend stand up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with them.
"#FlyAI: In view of the incident onboard @IndiGo6E, Air India wishes to inform that conduct of Person concerned is unacceptable. With a view to discourage such behavior onboard flts, Mr Kunal Kamra is suspended from flying on any Air India flt until further notice. @HardeepSPuri," Air India said in a tweet.
#FlyAI: In view of the incident onboard @IndiGo6E, Air India wishes to inform that conduct of Person concerned is unacceptable.With a view to discourage such behavior onboard flts, Mr Kunal Kamra is suspended from flying on any Air India flt until further notice. @HardeepSPuri .
¡ª Air India (@airindiain) January 28, 2020
This came after Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri advised airlines to impose restrictions on Kamra.
"We are left with no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions on the person concerned," Puri said in a tweet.
Offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers.
¡ª Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) January 28, 2020
We are left with no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions on the person concerned. https://t.co/UHKKZfdTVS
Earlier IndiGo, the private airline onboard the entire drama unfolded had said that "In light of the recent incident on board 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for a period of six months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour," and added that "Hereby, we wish to advise our passengers to refrain from indulging in personal slander whilst onboard, as this can potentially compromise the safety of fellow passengers."
@MoCA_GoI @HardeepSPuri In light of the recent incident on board 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for a period of six months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour. 1/2
¡ª IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 28, 2020
Kamra responded to IndiGo by saying "thank you Indigo a six-month suspension is honestly very kind of you".
Thank you Indigo a six month suspension is honestly very kind of you...
¡ª Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) January 28, 2020
Modiji might be suspending Air India forever. https://t.co/ari4erSE5F
On Wednesday another private airline, SpiceJet also announced that Kamra will be banned from flying until further notice.
SpiceJet has decided to suspend Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice. @MoCA_GoI @DGCAIndia @HardeepSPuri @IndiGo6E
¡ª SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) January 29, 2020
According to the DGCA rules, airlines are entitled to blacklist passengers for unruly behavior onboard.
AFP
According to the no-fly list rules which came into effect in 2017 following the altercation between an Air India crew and Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad there are three categories of unruly behavior that can put a passenger on the no-fly list based on the nature of their actions.
Level 1: Behaviour that is verbally unruly, and calls for debarment up to 3 months.
Level 2: Physical unruliness and can lead to the passenger being debarred from flying for up to 6 months
Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour where the debarment would be for a minimum of 2 years.
The rules also stated that the pilot-in-command of the airline should make the complaint, which will be further probed by an internal committee which includes retired District & Sessions Judge as Chairman and representatives from a different scheduled airline, passengers¡¯ association/consumer association/retired officer of Consumer Dispute Redressal as members to be set up by the airline.
The internal committee will have to decide the matter within 30 days, and also specify the duration of the ban on the unruly passenger.
During the period of pendency of the enquiry, the concerned airline may impose a ban on the said passenger.
The aggrieved persons can also file an appeal within 60 days to the Appellate Committee constituted by MoCA comprising of retired Judge of a High Court of India as Chairman and representatives of passengers association/consumer association/retired officer of Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum and airlines as Members.
It also specifies that the airline is required to share the No-Fly list other airlines are bound to follow it.
Dear Air India:
¡ª Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) January 28, 2020
In your exuberance to kiss political boots, you forgot that you come under the RTI Act.
Pls keep all the required papers ready to justify how you can do this under law (when he wasn¡¯t even a passenger).
I¡¯m going to examine EACH one of those papers. https://t.co/wV6mNxxqSr
Many also pointed out that the aviation minister who jumped in to advise airlines to suspend Kamra did not act when BJP MP Pragya Thakur was accused of delaying a Delhi-bound Spicejet flight from Bhopal by nearly 45 minutes over-allotment of her seat.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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