Subramanian Swamy withdrew a 2013 plea seeking the quashing of Jet Airways - Etihad alliance

Radhika Bansal

09 Jan 2023

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy withdrew from the Supreme Court his 2013 plea seeking the quashing of an alliance between Jet Airways and the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

"I wish to withdraw this, it is the Jet-Etihad matter. Now there is no Jet, no Etihad," Swamy told a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar. The court then remarked in a lighter vein, "We do not know who is responsible for that."

Taking note of his submissions, the top court allowed Swamy to withdraw his plea. "The petitioner seeks permission to withdraw given subsequent developments. The petitioner stands dismissed as withdrawn," the bench said while granting him liberty to file a fresh application if there is any new cause of action.

Subramanian Swamy withdrew a 2013 plea seeking the quashing of the Jet Airways - Etihad alliance

The apex court had issued notices to the Centre, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and others in the case.

Swamy had submitted that the deal was against public interest as there has been squandering of natural resources i.e. the sky and air space. He claimed that the deal was cleared against the advice of the Parliament Select Committee and other advisory bodies. Swamy had also submitted that even the CAG has found that there has been a reckless allocation of air space to foreign airlines.

Jet Airways had on April 24, 2013, announced plans to sell 24% equity to Etihad Airways for about INR 2,058 crore as part of a strategic alliance that would lead to a significant expansion in their global network.

Jet Airways had on April 24, 2013, announced plans to sell 24% equity to Etihad Airways for about INR 2,058 crore

Swamy had in his PIL sought "a direction to set aside and revoke any action or decision or grant of any further approvals/permissions/permits, etc. by the respondent(govt) authorities, based upon, relying upon or in furtherance of the impugned bilateral dated April 24. The petitioner challenges such arbitrary, irrational and malafide act of grant of largesse in the form of bilateral/MoU dated April 24 and by way of the present petition seeks an investigation under the supervision of this Court into the matters of national and public interest," he had said in his petition.

He had also sought a CBI probe against government officials who had cleared the deal. Swamy had questioned the Centre's decision to execute the agreement in favour of Abu Dhabi under the existing air service agreement between the governments of India and the United Arab Emirates.

"The actions of authorities from the execution of the bilateral to the unprecedented haste to assist the realisation of wrongful gains by the facilitator are writ large with acts of collusion and abuse of position," the petition had contended.

ALSO READ - Jet Airways relaunch to delay further due to unpaid payments

Read next

IndiGo inducts its 300th active aircraft – a first for any airline in the country

Radhika Bansal

07 Jan 2023

IndiGo on Friday announced that its fleet now consists of 300 aircraft. Currently, IndiGo operates the Airbus A320 CEO and NEO, the A321 NEO, and the ATR 72-600 aircraft. Speaking on the occasion, Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said: "We are excited to announce that our fleet size now stands at 300 aircraft, giving wings to our ambitions. We have recently expanded operations across west, east, and north-east India as well as the middle east. "The strong fleet will help us cater to emerging travel demands with the addition of capacity across domestic and international destination shores. We will strive to stay true to our promise of affordable fares, on-time performance, courteous and hassle-free service across a wide network." The 300 aircraft strong fleet will help in catering to the growing passenger volume, as Indian aviation marks recovery and growth in 2023. The seating capacity on the A320 CEO fleet is 180, A320 NEO fleet is 180 /186, the A321 fleet is 222/232 and ATR Fleet is 78. IndiGo is amongst the fastest-growing low-cost carriers in the world. With its fleet of 300 aircraft, the airline is operating over 1,600 plus daily flights and connecting 76 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations. Indigo on Thursday had said that the airline will operate 168 weekly flights between Mopa and 8 domestic destinations like Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad right from the start on the first day of operations. The new network will cater to the increasing demand owing to the popularity of Goa as a preferred leisure travel destination and will provide more options to the customers, making travel more affordable and enhancing direct connectivity to North Goa.

Read next

IndiGo stands with its staff - CEO Pieter Elbers

Radhika Bansal

07 Jan 2023

Amid (still-simmering) furore over the mid-air argument last month between a flight attendant and passenger, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Thursday told news agency ANI '... if people are not behaving we (must be) able to take adequate measures'. "Our crew is trained... we help and support them to the maximum... but it is a two-way street," he said. "We will work with the authorities to make sure we get the proper procedures (in place).. have always put emphasis on that in training our crews... want to provide courteous and hassle-free service."

"….(but) treat our crew in the way you want to be treated. That would be my message," the IndiGo boss added.

Elbers' comments come not only after the December video showing staff on an Istanbul-Delhi flight arguing with a passenger over food choices.

In the video an IndiGo cabin crew member says to the passenger: "You are pointing (your) finger... yelling at me. My crew is crying because of you. Please try to understand, there is a cart and counted meals are uplifted (on the plane). We can only serve what your boarding (pass shows)...," she can be heard saying.

Towards the end of the video the (male) passenger tells the flight attendant to 'shut up', to which she fires back 'you shut up'.

The confrontation went viral on social media and led to widespread support for airline cabin crew members, as well as a measure of criticism.

IndiGo said the crew lead had to intervene as the passenger in question had shown 'bad behaviour' and 'insulted' one of the airline's flight attendants.

IndiGo also found itself in hot water after a video seemed to show one of its staff 'throwing' a musical instrument belonging to Sufi singer Bismil.

Days after the fight between the IndiGo crew and passenger, a similar clash was reported from a Thai Airways Bangkok-Kolkata flight.

Two male passengers - their nationalities are unclear - got into a heated argument that turned into a fight while a flight attendant looks on helplessly.

The incident prompted concerns about mid-air safety.

And, this week, it emerged that a passenger in the business class section of an Air India New York-Delhi flight was drunk and urinated on a woman co-passenger. The man has been identified as Shankar Mishra, a vice president for Wells Fargo, a US-based corporation.

Air India has come under fire amid reports the crew did not offer help.

A Director General of Civil Aviation official said the regulator had not been notified, and that a report had been sought citing 'failures at multiple levels'.

Read next

Private trainer aircraft crashes in MP's Rewa district, killing the Pilot

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

A private trainer aircraft crashed after it collided with the dome of a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, killing the pilot, police said on Friday, January 6. The aircraft belonged to the Falcon aviation academy.

The crash that occurred at about 11.30 PM on Thursday, January 5 night also left a trainee pilot injured, who has been admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa, located about 400 km from the state capital Bhopal.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1611212856195960832

The aircraft crashed 3 km away from the Chorahta airstrip after hitting the dome of a temple and a tree while on a training sortie, the police said.

The Cessna trainer plane flew in circles several times before attempting to land in dense fog. No locals were hurt in the crash while the trainee pilot was out of danger.

A private trainer aircraft crashed in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, killing the pilot

Captain Vimal Kumar (50), a resident of Patna, was killed in the crash while trainee pilot Sonu Yadav (23), a resident of Jaipur, suffered injuries and was admitted to the government-run Sanjay Gandhi Medical College Hospital, said Rewa collector Manoj Pushp. Earlier, a local police officer had given different names of the two crash victims.

"The plane collided with the temple during training, one pilot has died, and the other is injured and is being treated at Sanjay Gandhi Medical College," Navneet Bhasin, SP, Rewa said.

Rewa District Collector Manoj Pushp said a probe is underway into the crash.

Read next

Air India passenger incident : What? How? When?

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO asks the airline staff to report any instances of improper behaviour that take place on any of its aircraft to the authorities at the earliest. He further stated that this must be done even if the matter appears to have been settled.

In an internal communication to airlines' employees, he reflected on the urinating incident to say that "the repulsion felt by the affected passenger is totally understandable and we share her distress.

"Whilst the story is more complicated than has been reported, there are clearly some lessons we can and must learn. Most importantly is that, if an incident on our aircraft involves improper behaviour of such magnitude, we must report it to authorities at the earliest opportunity, even if we genuinely believe that the matter has been settled between the parties involved. The same applies in the case of passengers deemed to meet the threshold of 'Unruly'."

Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India

Ten days after the shocking November 26 urinating incident on a New York-Delhi Air India flight, another episode of a drunk male passenger allegedly urinating on a female passenger's blanket was reported on the Paris-Delhi sector but there was no penal action after he gave a written apology, officials said on Thursday.

During the incident, a passenger on Air India flight 142 from Paris to Delhi on December 6 relieved himself on the vacant seat and blanket of a woman co-passenger, when the latter was in the lavatory.

Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO asks the airline staff to report any instances of improper behaviour that take place on any of its aircraft to the authorities at the earliest.

"The crew identified and isolated the offender and reported the incident to authorities. The aircraft was met on arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport and the passenger was taken into custody by CISF personnel," an airline spokesperson said.

As the victim and the accused reached an understanding, the CISF allowed the accused to leave after he tendered a written apology. In deference to the victim's wishes, Air India did not lodge a police report, the spokesperson said.

The incident - the second such on an Air India international flight - came out on Thursday, January 5. The previous incident occurred on November 26, 2022, wherein a Mumbai businessman urinated on a female co-passenger on board an Air India New York-New Delhi flight. The DGCA had said that the conduct of Air India, was unprofessional and led to a systemic failure, as provisions related to the handling of an unruly passenger on board had not been complied with.

DGCA seeks a report of the incident

Air India said it has imposed a 30-day flying ban on a passenger who had urinated on a female co-passenger onboard a flight from New York to Delhi in November 2022 and set up an internal panel to probe whether there were lapses on the part of their crew in addressing the situation.

Air India has banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to unilaterally do so, and reported the matter to the DGCA for further action

Aviation regulator DGCA said it has sought a report from the airline on the incident, which happened on November 26 and will "take action against those found negligent".

Air India said it has filed a police complaint about the incident but did not specify when the 30-day flying ban on the passenger came into effect. Delhi Police said several teams have been formed to catch the passenger and registered a case against the accused.

Based on the complaint given by the victim, Delhi Police has registered a case under sections 294 (does any obscene act in any public place), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 510 (Misconduct in public by a drunken person) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant section of Aircraft rule.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has written to the Air India Limited chairman to intervene in the matter. It said the action violated the woman's right to live a life of dignity and safety.

Airlines have the power to impose a flying ban on an individual for unruly behaviour for up to a lifetime. While Air India has banned the passenger from taking its flights, other carriers can decide whether a flying ban should be imposed on the individual concerned.

What is the incident?

On November 26, an inebriated male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger during a flight from New York to Delhi, according to reports. Without mentioning the details of the incident, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has taken a very serious view of the incident, where a passenger behaved in an unacceptable and undignified manner on the New York-Delhi flight that caused extreme distress to a fellow passenger.

Air India told DGCA that the female passenger initially requested that action be taken against the offender upon arrival. However, she rescinded her request after the two parties appeared to have sorted the matter out between them and there was no further confrontation. The airline reported the matter to an internal enquiry committee which has held its first hearing and a second hearing will happen on 10 January.

In her complaint letter to Grievance Air Sewa, the elderly woman, who is in her 70s, said, "I would like to submit a complaint about my appalling experience travelling with on Air India Business Class Flight AI102, Seat 9A, from JFK to New Delhi on 26 November 2022. During the flight, shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off, a male business class passenger seated in 8A walked to my seat, completely inebriated. He unzipped his pants and urinated on me and kept standing there until the person sitting next to me tapped him and told him to go back to his seat, at which point he staggered back to his seat. I immediately got up to notify the stewardess of what had happened. My clothes, shoes and bag were soaked in urine."

However, the lady passenger in her complaint said that the crew tried to mediate between her and the offender despite her saying that she wanted him to be arrested on arrival. “The crew brought the offender in front of me against my wishes and we were made to sit opposite each other. He started crying and asked me not to file a complaint saying he was a family man. I told him his actions were inexcusable but in my shock and trauma and his pleading, I found it difficult to press charges against him,” she wrote in her complaint to DGCA.

Air India has "banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to unilaterally do so, and reported the matter to the DGCA for further action," the spokesperson said in a statement. However, Air India declined to provide details about when the flying ban was imposed.

"We have also constituted an internal committee to probe lapses on part of Air India's crew and address the deficiencies that delayed quick redressal of the situation," the statement said. Further, the airline said it is also in regular contact with the aggrieved passenger and her family during the investigation and reporting process.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the morning said the regulator is "seeking a report from the airline and shall take action against those found negligent". The airline had not reported the incident to the regulator earlier.

What do DGCA rules say?

Under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) issued by DGCA in 2017, regarding the handling of unruly passengers, an airline has the power to ban an individual from flying for a lifetime. If one airline places a person on the no-fly list, then other airlines have the option of whether to impose a similar ban on the individual concerned.

The ban period varies depending on the violations being classified as Level 1, 2 or 3. For Level 1, which pertains to unruly behaviour such as "physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation", the ban can be for up to three months. The debarment will be up to six months for Level 2, which pertains to physically abusive behaviour like "pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment".

For Level 3 when there is a life-threatening behaviour like damage to aircraft operating systems, "physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault, attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment etc", the ban can be from a minimum of two years or more without a limit, as per the norms.

The home ministry can also provide DGCA and airlines, with a list of individuals identified as national security threats for inclusion in the no-fly list under the CAR.

Against the backdrop of the Air India incident, stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra tweeted '2 Air India's" and shared a screenshot of Air India banning him sometime back following alleged unruly behaviour onboard an IndiGo flight. Kamra also shared a screenshot of a media report saying that Air India has banned the passenger who urinated on a female co-passenger for 30 days.

Look Out Circular (LoC) issued against the accused

A Look Out Circular (LoC) has been issued against the accused who had allegedly urinated on his female co-passenger on an Air India flight, to prevent him from leaving the country. In another update, only 4 crew members have joined the investigation so far. Others are to join the probe today.

“A team of Delhi police reached Mumbai to meet a relative of accused S Mishra about getting information about the accused," according to a statement by Delhi Police.

The police said the accused, Shankar Mishra, is the vice president of the India Chapter of an American multinational financial services company headquartered in California. A senior police official said, "Mishra is a resident of Mumbai. We had sent our teams to Mumbai at his known locations but he was absconding. Our teams are trying to trace him".

Holding that Air India's conduct appeared to be "unprofessional", aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday issued notices to the officials and crew of the New York-Delhi flight, asking why action should not be taken against them for "dereliction" of duty while handling the November 26 ''urination'' incident.

According to the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA, "it appears that provisions related to handling an unruly passenger on board have not been complied with. The conduct of the concerned airline appears to be unprofessional and has led to a systemic failure. It lacks appreciation of regulatory obligations."

On the two Air India passenger urination cases, the DGCA has issued show-cause notices to the Accountable Manager, Director of In-Flight Services, Air India and the pilots and cabin crew members of the November 26 flight as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for non-discharge of their duties.

Read next

A woman alleges strip searched at Bengaluru airport during security check

Radhika Bansal

06 Jan 2023

A woman passenger alleged that she was asked to remove her shirt during the security check at Bengaluru Airport, a charge the CISF, which handles security at airports, said will be looked at internally.

“The department will conduct its own internal inquiry regarding this incident,” CISF chief PRO Anil Pandey said.

The woman, who was booked on a domestic flight, tweeted, “I was asked to remove my shirt at Bengaluru airport during security check. It was really humiliating to stand there at the security checkpoint wearing just a camisole and getting the kind of attention you’d never want as a woman.” Tagging Bengaluru airport, she posted, “@BLRAirport Why would you need a woman to strip?”

The airport authorities distanced themselves from the episode. “We have nothing to say, as it (the matter) has got to do with the CISF,” a communication team member of the airport told PTI.

As the tweet went viral, the woman later deleted the tweet and deactivated her account.

A woman alleges strip searched at Bengaluru airport during security check

CISF personnel deployed at the airport said the incident took place around 8 pm. A CISF personnel said, “As per procedure, CISF personnel directed the passenger to remove her jacket, which contained metal parts. They (CISF personnel) did not ask her to remove the shirt. Although she complied with the rules during the security check, she later tweeted falsely accusing us.”

Chief PRO Pandey said, “Our prime responsibility is to ensure security and follow security-check procedures as per norms. Our priority is also to ensure that during the procedure, no personnel should hurt passengers or emotionally get on the wrong side of the passengers. The department will conduct its own internal inquiry regarding this incident.”

The CISF staff asked her to remain inside while the jacket was returned, and the passenger reportedly said she was comfortable stepping out. The passenger was seemingly unhappy when security personnel asked her to take off her coat.

It has also been reported that the CISF is contemplating taking legal action against the woman passenger, who was flying to Ahmedabad from Bengaluru on an IndiGo flight, for making false accusations against the agency.

Comment