The pilot flying the IndiGo plane from Mumbai to Lucknow asserted on Thursday that Kunal Kamra who heckled journalist Arnab Goswami could not be classified as a ‘Level 1 Unruly passenger’ but may be considered “unsavoury”, said news agency PTI.
In the letter, the pilot wrote to the airline, he said that the stand-up comedian had complied with every instruction by the cabin crew and apologised more than once for his conduct.
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Captain Rohit Mateti also wrote that the airline management took the action on the basis of social media posts and did not consult the Pilot-in-Command. He said, “This is somewhat unprecedented in my 9 years of airline flying.”
IndiGo has said it had taken “cognisance of the letter of the pilot who was operating the flight on which Kunal Kamra and Arnab Goswami were travelling. “We have received the relevant statements and the internal committee has initiated the investigation regarding this incident,” the airline said in a statement.
Four Airlines, SpiceJet, Air India, GoAir and Indigo banned stand-up comic Kunal Kamra from flying with them for allegedly heckling journalist Arnab Goswami onboard an IndiGo plane, aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday said the move complies with its regulations.
IndiGo has suspended Kamra from flying with it for six months, while SpiceJet, Air India and GoAir banned the comedian “till further notice” after Kamra put out a 111-second video.
The rules require that the pilot-in-command file the first complaint and initiate the process to take action. Captain Rohit Mateti’s letter said he did not raise it because in his view, Kunal Kamra didn’t cross the line.
The letter said: At no point did he not comply with crew instructions. While he did briefly display Level 1 traits for disruptive behaviour (ICAO Doc 9811), he was also immediately compliant of crew instruction, was never issued a red-warning card and hence cannot be classified as such. Furthermore, in line with IndiGo SEP manual guidelines for disruptive behaviour, the situation was diffused, the passenger in question kept under observation and the cabin kept in lockdown for the duration of the flight. Hence, no further action on the part of the cockpit crew was required…. As Captain of 6E5317 Bom-Lko on 28-1-2020, I do not find the aforementioned events reportable in any way.
The video of the heckling that went viral draw a note of condemnation from many.