Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was on Thursday denied boarding an Air Asia flight over alleged “delay” in boarding a Hyderabad-bound flight, following which the office of the Governor wrote to concerned airport officials over “breach of protocol”.
Air Asia on Friday expressed regret over the incident.
The Governor’s Protocol Officer M Venugopal lodged a complaint at the Airport police station seeking action against AIX Connect and the airline officials responsible for it. According to the complaint, Gehlot was to fly from Bengaluru to Hyderabad on Thursday afternoon from Terminal-2 by boarding flight number I5 972 at 2.05 PM, reported PTI.
He had left the Raj Bhavan at 1.10 PM, and reached the VIP Lounge of the Terminal-1 at 1.35 PM. The luggage belonging to the Governor was loaded onto the plane, and by 2:06 PM, the Governor had reached the ladder of the plane.
“However, AirAsia (AIX Connect) employee Arif denied entry to the Governor saying that there was a delay in arrival, though the door of the plane was still open,” the complaint alleged.
“Besides this, the Governor’s luggage was unloaded in which 10 minutes were lost. The Governor was still standing near the ladder and the door of the plane was still open. Yet, the Governor was ignored and insulted by not allowing him inside the flight,” Venugopal said. He later returned to the VIP Lounge.
“This incident has deeply hurt the Governor, who is the first citizen of Karnataka. By obstructing him from discharging his official duty, his protocol has been breached. We request you to initiate legal action against (AIX Connect Station Manager) Zico Soares, Arif and AirAsia (AIX Connect),” the complaint said.
Meanwhile, the airline expressed regret over the incident and said that an investigation is on and appropriate action will be taken. The senior leadership team of the airline is in contact with the Governor’s Office to address the concerns, an AIX Connect spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Governor who was travelling to Raichur via Hyderabad, was later put on the next available flight to Hyderabad, around 90 minutes after he missed the previous flight.