New Delhi: Telegu Desam Party (TDP) MP Diwakar Reddy left for France on Friday night, hours after he was banned by domestic airlines for creating a ruckus Vishakapatnam airport a day earlier.
The TDP lawmaker boarded an Emirates flight from Hyderabad.
According to J C Prabhakar Reddy, brother of the Anantapur MP, the tour was planned well in advance. It is something the family does every year.
"He and his family left for vacation last night. I was also supposed to go along with them. But I could not go due to personal work. What is wrong in his foreign tour? He got his visa long ago. It was not planned yesterday," Prabhakar, a TDP MLA from Anantapur told PTI on Saturday.
Though the exact duration of the vacation is not exactly known, a TDP leader said it may last seven to 10 days.Domestic airlines stood firm against the MP after he hurled abuses at IndiGo airline staff at the Vishakapatnam airport. Reddy's outburst came after he wasn't allowed to board his flight because he was too late.
"In support of the fellow carriers Vistara has also taken a decision to impose a flying ban on Mr. JC Diwakar Reddy," Vistara spokesperson said.
While IndiGo had finally accommodated the TDP leader, later it decided to ban him from taking its flights.
State-run Air India, as well as budget carrier SpiceJet and full-service Jet Airways soon, followed suit by barring him from their flights.
Reacting to the incident, Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju, who is also from the TDP, said: “I will get the entire incident at Vizag Airport enquired into to find out the exact details and ensure that lawful outcomes follow.”
Earlier this year, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was temporarily banned by airlines from flying after he assaulted an Air India staffer, triggering a major controversy.
Following this, the Centre released its draft rules for a national no-fly list for unruly passengers and proposed a ban on flying from three months up to an indefinite period. The government is expected to finalise these rules shortly.
Reddy was scheduled to fly on IndiGo flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 AM, to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the airline.
As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure.
Comments
0 comment