Airlines lift ban on MP who manhandled airline staff
Four airlines including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Vistara on Wednesday lifted their ban on Telugu Desam Party MP Diwakar Reddy. The parliamentarian was banned by seven airlines after he allegedly manhandled IndiGo staff last month when they did not let him board an aircraft. Reportedly, Reddy has also agreed to withdraw the case he had filed against the airlines.
 IndiGo revoked on Wednesday a ban on TDP parliamentarian JC Diwakar Reddy who manhandled the airline?s staff at the Vishakhapatnam airport last month after being denied boarding for arriving late for a flight.The decision came after Reddy met officials from the airline in a meeting in New Delhi set up by Union minister for science and technology, YS Chowdary. ?The issue is amicably resolved between the two sides and IndiGo decided to lift the said ban with immediate effect,? a statement from the airline said. ?Reddy has also agreed to withdraw the case he filed (against eight airlines which has banned Reddy from flying in domestic flights).?On June 16, Reddy ? the Anantapur Lok Sabha representative ? misbehaved with IndiGo staff at the Vishakhapatnam airport when they refused to give him a boarding pass for his flight to Hyderabad since the gates had been closed. The lawmaker went on to shout at the airline employees, and surveillance footage showed him banging his hands on a printer and pushing an IndiGo staffer.#CCTVVisuals: TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy created ruckus at Visakhapatnam airport today,allegedly raged against staff using aggressive behaviour pic.twitter.com/JqUtcyKq0e? ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017Shortly after the fracas, other Indian airlines stood by IndiGo, and Reddy was banned from travelling by Air India, Jet Airways, Vistara Airlines, GoAir, AirAsia, SpiceJet and Turbo Megha Airways.The incident with Reddy, and the response from the airlines, were a near repeat of what had happened with another member of Parliament who misbehaved with airlines officials. Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was also temporarily banned by airlines after he assaulted an Air India staffer, triggering a controversy that prompted the Union government to release proposed rules for a national no-fly list for unruly passengers. The rules, yet to be formalised, propose a ban on flying from at least three months up to an indefinite period for a range of misdemeanour. State-run Air India followed IndiGo in revoking the ban on Reddy, ANI reported.IndiGo said it had informed the Federation of Indian Airlines about the decision to lift the ban on the TDP MP. ?IndiGo appreciates and thanks the member airlines for their continued support,? it said.Reddy had challenged the ban in court, and the case was scheduled to come up for hearing in Hyderabad high court on July 21. Justice SV Bhatt, who admitted Reddy?s petition, issued ?urgent notices? to the managements of the airlines, and the Union government over the matter. 