Passenger scuffle: Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju says fisticuffs not acceptable; IndiGo admits fault

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today strongly condemned the assault on a passenger by IndiGo staff and sought a report from DGCA even as the airline admitted that it was at fault and apologised.

Taking a strong note of the incident, a video clip of which went viral on Tuesday, Raju asserted that fisticuffs have no place in a civilised society.

He said aviation regulator DGCA would be asked to submit an independent report and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) would check whether certain procedures were violated as the incident took place in the security area.

In a seven-page letter submitted to the ministry, IndiGo said action was taken against staff for the "regrettable incident".

On Tuesday, a video surfaced showing IndiGo staff assaulting a passenger, Rajeev Katyal, at the Delhi airport.

The incident happened on October 15 on the tarmac -- a security area that falls under airside. The ministry had sought a report from the airline.

Fisticuffs of any kind have to be condemned and "we want to condemn these kinds of incidents", Raju told reporters here.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been asked to submit an independent report on the incident, he said while stressing that such barbarous things should not happen.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha termed the incident as "shocking and deplorable" and said safety and security of passengers cannot be compromised.

In the morning, IndiGo promoter Rahul Bhatia held meetings with Raju and civil aviation secretary R N Choubey regarding the incident.

"At the very outset, let me start off by acknowledging that we were at fault and we not only apologise for this regrettable incident, we have also taken action," IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh said in the letter.

Stressing that any violation on the airside is dangerous, Raju said, "I understand that some of them (procedure) have not been followed and notice will go from the BCAS as to why things have not been followed".

"We can't have violations. These are incorrect. Can there be fisticuffs on the airside, what is this?," he remarked.

To a query on whether there would be any punishment for the airline, Raju said, "I have not studied that", adding that a punitive action would depend on a lot of things.

About the incident, Choubey said "this is not on" and that the BCAS has been asked to suspend the airport entry permits of the three IndiGo staff.

Providing a chronology of events along with some screen shots, Ghosh said in the letter that he had apologised to the passenger on the same day the incident took place and the employees involved were immediately suspended.

"...we recognised that whatever may have been the provocation, my colleagues should have exercised restraint,"

Ghosh said.

About Juby Thomas, who is seen in the video entering into a scuffle with the passenger, the letter said that there was miscommunication between the two, possibly due to very noisy ramp area.

While Katyal might have felt that Thomas was rude, the letter said, the reality is that the latter was "only trying to ensure to the safety of Katyal and prevent an accident" as he was moving towards catering high lift.

"The irony of the fact is that Juby Thomas was indeed doing his work and ensuring safety of passengers," the letter noted.

However, when the passenger could not hear Thomas, the latter "started shouting in a much louder voice to overcome the very loud ambient noise around the aircraft", which might have been construed as rude by Katyal, it said.

According to IndiGo, the passenger abused the airline staff and the employee turned around and asked Katyal why was he abusing.

Out of three employees involved, IndiGo said it terminated the services of Montu Kalra while warning letters were issued to Thomas and Sahiv Sharma.

IndiGo said that Kalra, who is claiming to be the whistle blower, is the one who is shouting in the video and instructing the two other junior colleagues to prevent Katyal from boarding the bus.

The airline said Kalra "instigated the incident".

"It is important for us to point out that Montu Kalra was not terminated because he either shot a video or as he is now claiming, brought this (incident) to our attention," the report said.

It was Thomas who brought the incident to the airline's attention, IndiGo said.

In the video, Katyal is first seen being stopped from entering a coach, and then being pulled back by a ground staff. Another airline employee is seen restraining Katyal.

The passenger is seen fighting back and falling to the ground in the melee.

The shares of IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation fell over 2 per cent to close at Rs 1,181.75 on BSE.