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A Member of Parliament from Shiv, Sena Ravindra Gaikwad, on Thursday hit an Air India staff with his slipper over a seating issue. The incident took place on a Pune-Delhi flight AI 851.
The first time MP from Maharashtra’s Osmanabad admitted that he has hit the staff. “Yes, I beat him as he misbehaved with me. I hit Air India staffer 25 times. Do you expect me to hear their abuses quietly?” Gaikwad said.
Sources in Air India confirmed the incident and said that the parliamentarian got into an argument with the airline staff because he could not travel in business class and had to fly in economy class.
Sources told DNA that the MP had booked a business class ticket but Air India made a last moment announcement that the aircraft won't be able to provide business class accommodation. It asked business class passengers to either take a refund or shift to economy class. Gaikwad decided to fly in the economy class but he got into an argument with the airline staff soon after the flight took off.
"The flight landed in Delhi around 9:40 am and that's when the argument turned into a scuffle as Gaikwad refused to deboard. The staff tried to pacify him but he refused to calm down and hit a staff with his slippers," an airline source told DNA.
Air India has ordered a probe into the matter. "We have constituted a team to probe the whole incident," Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said.
