INDIGO, AIR INDIA BAR COMEDIAN KUNAL KAMRA
MUMBAI: Air carriers Indigo and Air India have banned stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with them after he allegedly heckled journalist Arnab Goswami aboard a Mumbai-lucknow flight of the private carrier, separate statements released by the two airlines said on Tuesday.
Private airline Indigo barred Kamra for six months for what it termed as “unacceptable behaviour” during its flight. Kamra had shot a 111-second video of television journalist Arnab Goswami in which he called him a “coward”, and questioned his work ethic and journalism. The video went viral after Kamra uploaded it on microblogging site Twitter. In another tweet, Kamra said Goswami called him “mentally unstable”.
In a statement, the airline said, “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...”
Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri took notice of the incident and “advised” other airlines in India to impose similar restrictions on Kamra, stating “offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers”.
In a press statement, Dhananjay Kumar, Air India spokesperson, said: 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 flights, Mr Kunal Kamra is suspended from flying on any Air India flight until further notice.