TruJet denies ticket to JC Diwakar Reddy, apologises

Hyderabad: TDP MP J C Diwakar Reddy, who had created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport last month after he was not allowed to board IndiGo flight for being late, was on Sunday denied a ticket to Vijayawada from here by TruJet, a regional airline.

The airline later apologised to the Lok Sabha member and initiated action against its staff. Trujet Managing Director Umesh V attributed the incident to miscommunication among the staff.

The staff was not sure whether to allow Reddy or not and later denied a boarding pass to him prompting him to leave the premises around 5.30 am.

“The incident is nowhere connected to no-flying ban as we have not received any communication about it either from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) or Federation of Indian Airlines,” Umesh said.

“We have given clear instructions to the staff across all airports to ensure that such incidents do not occur. We expressed regrets to the MP and we will allow him in our flights in future,” Umesh said. The flight took off from RGIA at 6.30 am without the MP.

Diwakar Reddy downplayed the issue saying that the airlines had tendered an apology and he would not take up the matter seriously. "This (TruJet denying ticket) is a small issue. But there are several complaints against IndiGo. I will move a privilege motion against them in the coming Parliament session," Reddy said.