New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh has written a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju complaining against national carrier Air India.
This comes amid media reports that Nirmal Singh and Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju caused a delay of an hour to a Leh to Delhi Air India flight.
He clarified that the he reached at the airport in time but the door of the flight was closed by the time he arrived.
While giving the timeline of the events of June 24, Nirmal Singh said that he reached at right time to board the plane. However, he mentioned in the letter that he reached at 10:48 am while the time of boarding was written 10:40 am.
“I left for Airport along with my OSD and reached there at 10:48 AM. I collected my boarding pass wherein time for boarding was written 10:40 a.m (sic),” he wrote.
Singh wrote, “I was shocked when I came to know that during these days also the air services are as erratic as reportedly complained by the Ladakh people. On the same pattern of rural bus service I experienced that pilot dictated the time and arrival and also the passengers to board the plane.”
Kiren Rijiju 'delays' Air India flight, 3 'offloaded' to accommodate him, PA
He said that the pilot had closed the doors of plane when he got to the flight.
Singh added that three more families along with them who were denied boarding.
While clarifying on the reports that three people were de-boarded to accommodate the ministers and aide, he wrote, “The families who were denied permission to board the plane were perhaps replaced with new passengers on the excuse of the delay.”
In a similar incident on June 29, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis delayed a flight from Mumbai to Newark by an hour.
Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju has a report from Air India on alleged delay of flights in both the incidents.
