The flying ban imposed on stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra after he accosted TV anchor Arnab Goswami on board an Indigo flight has left Twitter divided. On Tuesday, Kamra posted a video on his Twitter handle where he is seen mocking Arnab Goswami over his journalism. Soon after he tweeted the video, Indigo Airlines, in a series of tweets, said that Kamra had been barred from flying on the airline for a period of six months.
“In light of the recent incident on board 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for a period of six months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour. Hereby, we wish to advise our passengers to refrain from indulging in personal slander whilst onboard, as this can potentially compromise the safety of fellow passengers,” the airline said in a statement.
State-owned carrier Air India also followed suit and barred Kamra from flying with the airline for an indefinite period. ” In view of the incident onboard @IndiGo6E, Air India wishes to inform that conduct of Person concerned is unacceptable.With a view to discourage such behavior onboard flts, Mr Kunal Kamra is suspended from flying on any Air India flt until further notice (sic),” Air India tweeted.
The action by the two airlines, however, has left Twitter divided. While a section of people supported the travel restriction imposed by the airlines, some others called for Indigo’s boycott and termed its decision too harsh.
.@IndiGo6E & @airindiain ‘s actions are excessive & unjustified. Will they start banning people for their political views next?
Service providers have a duty towards the public at large. Acting as agents of a political party must come at a price.#BoycottAirIndia #BoycottIndigo— Pankhuri Pathak پنکھڑی (@pankhuripathak) January 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/DesiPoliticks/status/1222238984010682371
#BoycottIndigo till the suspension is revoked. https://t.co/0pUK7v3kZP
— Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) January 28, 2020
On the other hand, there were also a set of people who supported the airlines’ action and said it was important to set an example against unruly behaviour by passengers onboard flights.
https://twitter.com/ramprasad_c/status/1222210812309274630
What Kamra did is unacceptable. If he had a problem with Arnab he could write, make fun or abuse him on his stand-up shows. Or sue him. But doing it on a flight is not on. Kamra should have been handcuffed & led out of the aircraft. What the hell was @IndiGo6E indigo crew doing?
— Mohan Sinha 🇮🇳 (@Mohansinha) January 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/Ibne_Sena/status/1222215077912334338
Reacting to IndiGo’s action against Kamra, Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers. We are left with no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions on the person concerned.”