Slap-artist Gaikwad may get away lightly

My party, Uddhav Saheb will take care of it,” he is reported to have told journalists in New Delhi. He also remained unrepentant. In various TV interviews, he boasted about how he had hit the AI staffer with his slipper 25 times. “Why should I apologise? The staffer should come and apologise to me for his behaviour,” he said. Gaikwad was forced to travel in economy class from Pune to Delhi despite holding a business class ticket. Miffed by the alleged “callous” attitude of Air India while addressing his complaint, he lost his cool.

In an exemplary action, the Federation of Indian Airlines and Air India issued a joint statement declaring ban on the parliamentarian. Besides Air India, the airlines that will not allow Gaikwad to fly are IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Go Air, AirAsia and Vistara. “Air India and the member airlines of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) that includes IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air, condemn the assault on an Air India staff member by a passenger who happens to be a Member of Parliament on March 23, 2017. The airlines demand that strict action be taken against the Member of Parliament by law enforcement agencies. We believe that an assault on any one of our employees is an assault on all of us and on ordinary law abiding citizens of our country who work hard to earn a living,” said Ujjwal Dey, Associate Director of Federation of Indian Airlines. “Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this Member of Parliament from flying on all our flights with immediate effect. We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety. In the interest of the safety and security of our colleagues and other customers we also propose the promulgation of a ‘no fly’ list which shall include the names of all unruly passengers. Such customers are not welcome on our carriers and we seek the support of the Government and security agencies to enforce such a ‘no fly’ list,” he added.