Mumbai, June 15:  The hashtag BoycottAirAsia started trending on micro-blogging site Twitter after one of the pilots of the airline raised questions on the safety measures followed by the airline amid coronavirus outbreak. AirAsia terminated the pilot, Gaurav Taneja, from the services after he pointed out lapses in the precautionary measures taken by the airline in accordance to that laid down by the government. Taneja, who is also a popular YouTuber and a Vlogger, uploaded a video describing his experience, on his YouTube channel - Flying Beast- narrating his side of the story.

In his youtube video, Taneja said that it started when on March 22 he refused to sign papers of acceptance as per procedures laid down by the aviation regulator as there were lapses in the rules. Due to which, the flight was delayed for 40 minutes. The former AirAsia pilot raised the issue with the higher authorities. When he did not get any response, he decided not to fly from March 24. AirAsia India Opens Bookings for 21 Destinations as Govt Permits Domestic Flight Operations From Tomorrow.

Video of Terminated AirAsia Pilot Gaurav Taneja Narrating His Side of The Story:

Taneja said that he then received a notice in which the airline claimed that it had to face financial losses due to his decision. He added that he also gave details of the lapses, however, the airline did not respond. In May, Taneja made a video, in which he claimed that he might lose his job due to COVID-19 crisis. After the video was uploaded, AirAsia send another notice asking him to take down the clip. However, Taneja refused Air Asia's request.

Taneja, in his latest video, claimed that AirAsia has a mandatory rule to do 98 percent flap-3 landing out of the total flights. In one flap-3 landing as the company can save 8-10 kg fuel. Taneja said that he did 71 percent flap- 3 landings in his last 10 flights. According to him, there are certain airstrips where full flap landing is necessary.

International and domestic flights were suspended on March 25 due to coronavirus outbreak in the country. Domestic flight services were then resumed after two months on May 25. The government of India also laid down several precautionary measures which airlines should follow to contain the spread of COVID-19.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 15, 2020 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).