AI cancels flight ticket of other Kunal Kamra

BOSTON-BASED KAMRA SAID HE WAS SHOCKED WHEN THE AIRLINE STAFF AT THE CHECK-IN COUNTER DENIED HIM A BOARDING PASS

MUMBAI: Air India mistakenly cancelled the ticket of a Bostonbased man, namesake of comedian Kunal Kamra, on its Jaipur-Mumbai flight of February 3, according to senior officials.

However, he was reissued the ticket and allowed to board the flight once the airline staff at the Jaipur airport realised that he is not the comedian who is on the no-fly list of four airlines, including Air India, the officials said.

The comedian was banned by Indigo, Spice Jet, Go Air and Air India for six months on January 28 for allegedly heckling journalist Arnab Goswami on an Indigo’s Mumbai-Lucknow flight. Boston-based Kamra, who was in Jaipur to meet his family, said he was shocked when the airline staff at the check-in counter denied him a boarding pass as he was blacklisted.

“I was at the airport for twoand-a-half hours before the flight departure time and was informed about the cancellation of my ticket only when I approached the check-in counter. I had to show multiple identity cards to prove I wasn’t the person they thought I was,” he said, adding that it was an “unpleasant experience”, but the airline staff was helpful. He is returning to Boston over the weekend.

Air India issued a clarification. “Comedian Kunal Kamra is banned from boarding Air India. It’s mentioned in our system and that’s why his name was automatically rejected. But after verification of all the credentials of the passenger, we allowed him to board,” said Dhananjay Kumar, Air India spokesperson. Comedian Kunal Kamra, too, reacted to the incident on Twitter and called it “collateral damage”.