Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's repeated attempts to fly go in vain as airlines remain resolute

New Delhi: Since Tuesday, he had been trying hard and soul to fly to Delhi, either by getting open tickets or by buying new ones. However, everytime his attempt to manage a ticket by using alias has resulted into a complete failure.

Gaikwad is now adamant to fly again soon after being boycotted by seven scheduled airlines owing to assaulting an elderly Air India employee. Besides, on March 24, Gaikwad's tickets from Delhi to Pune were cancelled, one by Air India and another by Indigo.

Altogether, the MP has been grounded seven times by different airlines over the past seven days. On Tuesday, March 28, he had tried to book a ticket of a Mumbai to Delhi 8am flight (AI 806), which was cancelled, followed by another Hyderabad to Delhi (AI 551) flight on Wednesday, which was also cancelled.

"He tried to book AI 806 (Mumbai-Delhi) and AI 551 (Hyderabad-Delhi) on Wednesday (March 29). Then he tried to book a Nagpur-Delhi on Thursday (March 30) which AI found out and did not let the booking happen.

“The Mumbai-Delhi flight was sought to be endorsed on an open ticket he has, while the other two tickets were being bought. The names given for the bookings were: Ravindra Gaikwad and then as Professor V Ravindra Gaikwad," TOI quoted a source as saying.

"The MP has open tickets and attempts were made to endorse it for these flights. We are ascertaining how many open tickets and frequent flyer tickets have been issued to the MP so that those could be cancelled," TOI quoted an AI official as saying.

"We have standing instructions not to allow the honourable MP on any of our flights. He can try to get his open tickets endorsed on our flights (meaning get confirmation to fly on a particular flight) but will not be able to fly," TOI quoted another official as saying.

Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had met Aviation Minister AG Raju to discuss the issue but it did not yield any result, as the airlines, including AI, IndiGo, Jet, SpiceJet, GoAir and Vistara were determined to keep him away.

"The MP has not even expressed remorse for his act of beating up a 60-year-old AI staffer with sandals and for trying to throw him out of the aircraft at Delhi Airport last Thursday.

“We have had to ban him simply because India does not have a no-fly list otherwise Gaikwad's name would have been put on that," the report quoted a senior official of a private airline as saying.