Air India again spikes Sena MP Gaikwad's tickets

A day after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad expressed 'regrets', the Air India on Friday again cancelled his flight tickets, officials said here.

Airlines sources said that Gaikwad had booked tickets for travelling between Delhi and Mumbai on April 17 and a return trip on April 24, both of which have been cancelled.

The development came a day after he wrote a letter to Aviation Minister A. Gajapathi Raju expressing 'regrets' over the March 23 fracas on Pune-Delhi flight AI 852.

Later, Gaikwad was blacklisted and slapped with a flying ban not only by the Air India but all other private carriers, even as Shiv Sena cried foul and created disturbances in Parliament on Thursday.

Cancelling his tickets, the national carrier referred it as a "possible passenger match with Blacklist entry" and it would be treated as 'No Valid Ticket'.

Admitting that the ban on him in the past 14 days is "affecting the effective discharge of my duties and responsibilities" the minister urged for the restrictions on his flight to be revoked.

Since the ban, Gaikwad has been compelled to travel by train or road depending on his engagements, keeping away from the media glare.

--IANS

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