Bollywood singer Udit Narayan’s son Aditya Narayan allegedly got into an argument with IndiGo ground staff and abused them at Raipur airport after he was asked to cough up Rs 13,000 for excess baggage, according to the airline.
Aditya Narayan, who is a singer, actor and TV host, was booked on a flight from Raipur to Mumbai on Sunday morning. At the time of check-in at the airport he was asked to pay for extra baggage weighing 40 kg, which led to a heated argument between him and IndiGo ground staff, the airline said in a statement.
“(If) you are going to offload me, I will see you in Mumbai...phir dekh lenge (then we will see),” the singer can be heard threatening a duty manager of the airline in a video being played by TV channels.
The airline said that Narayan also used “unparliamentary” language while arguing with a woman staff member.
“Aditya Narayan, travelling with a group of 5 people, was carrying excess baggage of 40 kg. The amount to be paid for the carriage of excess baggage came to Rs 13,000,” said the IndiGo statement.
“He refused to pay this amount to the female check-in staff member and said that he will not pay more than Rs 10,000 for the excess baggage and also used unparliamentary language with the female staff member,” it said.
The airline added that the singer used “abusive words” against its duty manager.
However, Narayan was later issued a boarding pass after he apologised to the ground staff. The airline did not say whether he paid the excess baggage fee or not.
“We at IndiGo can at no point compromise the dignity of our staff members or passengers,” the airline statement said.
Narayan did not reply despite repeated attempts to contact him.
IndiGo allows passengers to carry check-in baggage weighing up to 15 kg free of cost. A maximum of seven kg per person is allowed as cabin baggage.
Over and above the weight limit laid down by the airline, customers have to pay Rs 300 per kg as excess baggage, according to the IndiGo website.
In June, IndiGo had barred Telugu Desam Party MP Diwakar Reddy from flying with it after he allegedly entered into a verbal spat with the ground staff and threw a printer kept at the airline’s counter. He had been denied boarding because he reported late for his flight.
In a show of solidarity, IndiGo and other domestic carriers also banned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad from flying after he hit an Air India staff “25 times” with a slipper.
Last month, in a first, the government framed rules for a no-fly list of unruly passengers.
According to the rules, passengers can be banned from flying for three months to an indefinite period for an act of disruptive behaviour.
However, the ban can be enforced only if a passenger misbehaves inside a plane, either stationary or in flight. An act of misdemeanour at an airport has to be probed by the local police.
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