Air India cancels Gaikwad's two tickets

The battle between Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad and Air India (AI) intensified on Tuesday with the national carrier cancelling two tickets booked by him for Wednesday. A source said Gaikwad first booked a ticket on a Mumbai-Delhi Air India flight for Wednesday, but soon the carrier cancelled it.

Gaikwad then booked another ticket on a Hyderabad-Delhi flight, which was also cancelled by the airline, escalating its fight with the MP. Both the bookings were made on an open business-class ticket issued to Gaikwad, an Air India (AI) official said.

On Friday, AI cancelled Gaikwad’s ticket from Delhi to Pune. Following this, Gaikwad booked a ticket on IndiGo, which was also cancelled, forcing him to take a train.

All scheduled airlines have banned the MP from flying following an assault on an AI manager at the New Delhi airport on Thursday. Gaikwad had physically targeted the manager for not allotting him a business-class seat though he had boarded an all-economy class flight. The incident has evoked widespread criticism inside and outside Parliament.