Sorry, Ms Minister. You are late

Says Kingfisher Airlines, as its flight refuses to wait for former civil aviation minister Mohsina Kidwai

Sorry, Ms Minister. You are late

Says Kingfisher Airlines, as its flight refuses to wait for former civil aviation minister Mohsina Kidwai

Flights don't wait for anyone, not even for a former boss. That's what senior Congress leader and former Civil Aviation Minister Mohsina Kidwai learnt the hard way on Thursday.

Kidwai was not allowed to board a Kingfisher flight to Lucknow after she arrived "well beyond normal boarding time."

According to the letter, Kidwai said she reached the domestic departure terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport at 12.40 pm to catch a Kingfisher flight (IT-204) to Lucknow, which was scheduled to take off at 1.30 pm. She also had her boarding pass stamped. "While she was proceeding towards the security check zone, she was informed by Kingfisher Airlines staff the aircraft door had been closed and she couldn't board the flight," the letter said. Kidwai said the flight took off at 2 pm, half-an-hour after she was asked to stay back.

However, airport sources said the former civil aviation minister had checked in online at around 11.19 am and had got a boarding pass for a Business Class seat. "The pass had to be re-endorsed at the check-in counter, where she was stopped as she had arrived quite late," said an airport official, wishing anonymity. The official said Kidwai had done a web check-in and the airline was not aware of her VIP status.

Kidwai, a Rajya Sabha MP, was flying to Lucknow to address an election meeting for the bypolls in the state.

The Other Side
Kingfisher Airlines, in a statement issued late on Thursday evening, said Kidwai had reported at 1.22 pm (eight minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight). "This was well beyond the regular time at which check-in counters close and guests are accepted for boarding. Hence, the honourable MP could not be accepted for boarding as this would have meant a significant delay for all other guests who were already onboard. Moreover, it would have led to consequential delays in our flight schedule across the network," an airline spokesperson said.

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