Air India won't let Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad fly, cancels his ticket again

Air India snubbed Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for the second time, cancelling his ticket to Delhi on Tuesday.

The MP, according to sources, tried to book a Mumbai-Delhi AI flight through a call centre. Gaikwad wanted to book a ticket for 8 am to attend the ongoing Parliament session.

While the call centre booked his ticket, Air India turned it down after they found his name in the flying list.

Air India said there was no change in its position against Gaikwad, who refused to apologise for assaulting a 60-year-old AI staffer with his sandals last Thursday.

"We have standing instructions not to allow the 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," said a senior AI official.

AI, along with private airlines like Jet, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Vistara, have decided not to allow Gaikwad on their flights. Their stand is despite the massive pressure now being mounted by the political class - extending beyond Gaikwad's Shiv Sena - to have the ban revoked from the MP.