Lucknow, January 28: Hours after Kunal Kamra was suspended by private air carrier Indigo from flying for six months, Air India also barred the stand-up comedian from boarding the state-owned airline for an indefinite period. The action was taken against Kamra for heckling TV anchor Arnab Goswami onboard Lucknow-bound Indigo Flight. Goswami boarded the flight from Mumbai. Kunal Kamra-Arnab Goswami Verbal Spat Video: Civil Aviation Ministry Issues Directives for Safety of Passengers.
Air India tweeted to inform about its decision. The state-owned carrier in a tweet said, “#FlyAI: 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 flts, Mr Kunal Kamra is suspended from flying on any Air India flt until further notice.” Air India also tagged Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri in its tweet.
Air India's Tweet:
#FlyAI: 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 flts, Mr Kunal Kamra is suspended from flying on any Air India flt until further notice. @HardeepSPuri .
— Air India (@airindiain) January 28, 2020
Meanwhile, IndiGo in a statement advised passengers to refrain from indulging in personal slander onboard. IndiGo said, “In light of the recent incident (journalist Arnab Goswami heckled by Kunal Kamra) onboard flight 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for 6 months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour." Air India Crew Misbehaved, Pilots Threatened by Passengers Over Flight Delay; DGCA Seeks Action - Watch Video.
Puri had also condemned Kamra’s behaviour. He tweeted, “Offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers. We are left with no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions on the person concerned."
The stand-up comedian provoked Goswami onboard IndiGo flight. He also shared video, in which he was seen inciting the TV anchor to answer his questions. It drew flak from various sections of the society.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2020 11:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).