'VIP' treatment irks Congress MP, complains to airline

NEW DELHI: Low cost carrier SpiceJet was stumped on Thursday when a member of Parliament complained because he was treated like a VIP when he flew from Jabalpur to Delhi on Wednesday. This ‘complaint’ was sent by Vivek Tankha, Congress’ newly-elected Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, who travelled Jabalpur-Delhi on July 6, to SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh.

When he and a Lok Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh boarded the bus at Delhi airport to the arrival terminal, “its doors were abruptly shut to other passengers and just (we) were exclusively ferried from the place of de-boarding to arrival”, he said.

Tankha, who made it to the Upper House less than a month back, wrote to Singh Thursday, saying, “I strongly feel that an MP is like any other passenger and should expect the same courtesy as offered to other passengers. As a concerned citizen I feel there is no need to extend such extra courtesy to any MP or any VVIP/VIP... In fact I found this extra courtesy extremely embarrassing.” “I immediately requested the ground staff not to extend such VIP treatment to us or anybody else...I appreciate and put on record the courtesy extended by the SpiceJet staff as always but this is not required and should be discontinued with immediate effect for all VIPs (or atleast for me) barring if there is some very genuine or compelling security/health consideration,” the new MP said.

Airlines, on their part, say they do not know which VIP will be offended for not being treated like a dignitary and who will feel bad for being treated like one. “With the exception of few VVIPs like defence and aviation ministers Manohar Parrikar and Ashok Gajapathi Raju, there are not too many others who fly like the common man,” said a leading airline official.