No one can possibly defend the incident of slapping of an Air India official by Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad, whatever be the provocation. To that extent, the media blitz in recent days about the incident on the Pune-Delhi flight this past week cannot be faulted.
But, it is important that Air India as also other domestic airlines sit back and take a look at the ways in which they function. Those who travel regularly by these airlines are not amused at the casualness and at times provocative ways in which the staff operates. This should also be time to set things right with our aviation sector, plagued in recent years with financial stress and faulty governmental policies.
The great sense of anger across the board over the way the Shiv Sena MP behaved is justified and it also has to do with the styles being adopted by the Sena in Mumbai and elsewhere. At the same time, no serious discussion has taken place in the media on the reasons that led to the public disenchantment over the functioning of the aviation sector as a whole.
There’s often no guarantee to timely arrival or departure of flights. Flights are often cancelled on what looks like flimsy grounds. Some of these cancellations are known to be to facilitate the flights of VIPs, like top bureaucrats and even judges, to their destinations.
There was the instance of a Bhubaneswar-bound flight getting cancelled at Delhi airport some time ago. Word went round that some VIPs had to “urgently” reach a destination and the plane that should have flown passengers to Bhubaneswar was diverted for the purpose, resulting in the stranding of passengers booked for the Orissa capital for many hours. Behaviour of airlines staff leaves much to be desired, though the ordinary passengers are more at the receiving end of such rash behaviour.
It is totally justified to file a case against the MP for what has happened. But, what’s questionable is the flurry with which Air India, followed by five other airlines, summarily banned the MP from boarding their flights. The ban looks arbitrary and beyond the purview of law.
There are international civil aviation regulations (CAR) as to how to deal with unruly passengers. Action could be taken against a passenger if he posed a threat to an aircraft — as in the case of terrorists and hijackers — or indulged in unruly behaviour.
In the UK, such persons can be put on the no-fly list either by individual airlines in the UK, while in the US through coordinated effort by airlines, in the aftermath of terror attacks. A physical fight by itself, even when it involves an airline official, is not sufficient ground to ban an individual from flying. The scuffle should be reported to the police and necessary action awaited.
Even the civil aviation ministry is not sure whether the airlines are legally correct in putting the MP in a no-fly list. The matter is being examined. What is also significant is that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put forward regulations vis-à-vis misdemeanour of passengers, but not of the airlines staff.
One report on the Gaikwad row has quoted one of the airline employees saying the official who was slapped by Gaikwad too had behaved in an irresponsible manner, aggravating the situation. Many frequent flyers would vouch for the fact that misbehaviour on the part of airlines staff is not very uncommon in the Indian aviation sector.
The action of Air India in putting the MP in a no-fly list, barring him from boarding flights — and by other airlines as well, in quick succession — amounts to an act of double jeopardy insofar as a police case has already been registered.
The law should be allowed to take its course, and airlines officials too should refrain from taking law into their hands. Otherwise the whole nation would turn into different versions of khap panchayats, each institution, groups or associations shooting off punishments as they deem fit.
