Lifting no-fly ban on Shiv Sena MP to hit Air India staff’s morale

In a big setback to the morale of Air India’s crew and other staff members, the airline lifted the 14-day no-fly ban on Shiv Sena’s Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad after it got a letter from the Ministry of Civil Aviation asking for a review.

This follows the apology tendered by Gaikwad in a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and giving an undertaking “of good conduct”.

Besides, Air India’s decision brings to fore the issue of its autonomy when it comes to taking decisions that affect it.

Perhaps sensing the signals that the airline was planning to lift the ban on Gaikwad, the airline’s Cabin Crew Association wrote to Chairman and Managing Director, Ashwani Lohani on Friday morning, saying, “We do not wish to be flying such a person,”. It added that 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.”

The letter further says, “Unless he tenders an unconditional apology to AI employees we must not let him on board. For either the Ministry or Parliament to allow such a person to get away without even a rap on the knuckles or even forcing an apology to all Air Indians would be a crying shame.”

By late afternoon their pleas and appeals had fallen on deaf ears as the airline withdrew the ban against the MP.

Echoing the sentiments expressed by the Air India Cabin Crew Association, a senior official of a private airline said, “Letting him (Gaikwad) off without even an apology will send the wrong signal to other disruptive passengers. If a person has been disruptive or abusive it is an issue of the safety and well-being of the crew and passengers.”

The irony of the ban against Gaikwad being lifted became stark as a TMC leader Dola Sen allegedly delayed a Delhi-Kolkata Air India flight because she started screaming when her aged mother was not given a seat near the emergency exit.

The MP, who had made the booking on travel portal MakeMyTrip, had paid Air India extra to book the seats, airline officials indicated. They, however, claim that the booking did not mention that the passenger was in a wheel chair and by the laws governing Indian aviation she could not have been given the seat near the emergency exit.

The pilot’s offer to fly the MP’s mother in business class was rejected. It was only when other passengers intervened and reminded Sen of the Gaikwad incident that the MP relented and the aircraft left close to 40 minutes after its scheduled departure time. The airline is said to have recorded the delay in departure as “technical reasons” rather than spelling out what actually happened.

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