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Govt May Change 'No-Fly' Rules Following Airline Ban On MP Ravindra Gaikwad After He Assaulted Crew

Last week, Gaikwad thrashed a 60-year old Air India official with slippers after he was allegedly refused a business class seat as the plane didn't have a separate business class section.
Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

The government is considering changing aviation rules that govern who can bar people from flying on airlines and for how long, following a collective airline ban on Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad after he physically assaulted an Air India crew and bragged about it publicly.

Mint reported a senior government official as saying "certain areas" within regulation need to be clarified, adding that airlines were within their rights to stop someone from flying if they showed unruly behavior.

Last week, Gaikwad thrashed a 60-year old Air India official with slippers after he was allegedly refused a business class seat as the plane didn't have a separate business class section. Several major airlines including IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir subsequently banned him from flying, after a police complaint was filed by Air India.

Shiv Sena MPs have demanded the ban be lifted. The issue was also heavily debated in Parliament on Monday.

Gaiwad issued a fresh statement on Tuesday denying the altercation was related to a business class seat. He told ANI that the incident happened after he complained against "substandard" service of the airline.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.