Mid-air rebuke of AI crew hounds civil aviation minister

New Delhi: The civil aviation minister Praful Patel appears to have been put on the backfoot by a clutch of employees of the national carrier Air India.
These employees, under the aegis of the All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA), have charged Patel with being a law unto himself during a recent flight from New York, berating crew and the flight’s commander for inadequate service and then flogging the “image” of Air India employees in a subsequent television interview.
The war of words between Patel and AICCA began after the minister returned to Mumbai on an Air India flight from New York’s JFK airport on June 15.
According to a statement by AICCA President Kiran Pawaskar, the minister was upset about several things: scratch marks on his seat, long time taken by the aircraft to taxi before take-off from JFK and the subsequent “delay” in switching off the seat belt signs in the aircraft.
“The minister berated the crew for observing ‘fasten seat belt’ signs……and demanded that the crew serve him his drink while the aircraft was still in the climb mode……….the minister also said that Jet Airways does service during the seat belt signs…….”
Pawaskar pointed out that as per DGCA recommendations, no service should be conducted by airline crew while the ‘fasten seat belt’ signs are on at any phase in any flight. “Is the hon. Minister above the law and a law unto himself? We hope ‘perform and perish’ does not imply perish serving liquor during turbulence….”
Patel did not refer to specific incidents in his letter today, merely expressing displeasure at how some of his “well meaning” gestures are being wrongly construed and leaked to the media.
“My comments were purely internal and in the interest of the airline,” he said.
21/06/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Air India Domestic Jun 2008, NACIL Jun 2008