New Delhi:
A day after the SpiceJet clarified why BJP MP Pragya Thakur was asked by the crew on Delhi-Bhopal flight to move to a non-emergency row seat, a video of the incident has surfaced on Tuesday in which people can be seen confronting her over allotment of the seats.
In the video, people can be seen confronting Pragya, with a man reminding her that "your job is not to trouble us".
Pragya Thakur and other man also argued over the language used. Pragya Thakur also filed a complaint with Bhopal Airport Director alleging that she was not allotted the seat that she had booked in a SpiceJet flight and the conduct of the airline crew was not right with her.
"You should have the moral compass to own up if other people are being inconvenienced because of you. Despite being a (political) leader, you are holding 50 people at ransom," the man is heard telling the Bhopal MP.
This wins the Internet:pic.twitter.com/4KFpDpbJYM
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In the video, Thakur is heard telling angry co-passengers that she is willing to relinquish her seat so long as the issue is clarified through documentary proof. "I said this at the beginning -- show me your rulebook. If I don't feel comfortable, I will go," she says, adding that she had agreed to go economy even though "she has the right to a first class seat".
On Sunday, SpiceJet clarified that Thakur was asked by the crew on Delhi-Bhopal flight to move to a non-emergency row seat as she was on a wheelchair but she refused, causing the flight to delay.
While some restless passengers requested Thakur to change her seat from the emergency row, which is not allocated to passengers on wheelchairs, to a non-emergency row, others requested the crew to offload her as she was refusing to change the seat, according to the airline's spokesperson.
Ultimately, the BJP MP from Bhopal acquiesced and moved to the seat on a non-emergency row. A source said the flight got delayed by approximately 45 minutes due to this matter.
The SpiceJet clarification came a day after Thakur complained that the private airline denied her the seat she had booked on the flight. Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blasts case, had pre-booked seat 1A on SG2489 flight and had come to the Delhi airport in her own wheelchair on Saturday.
When reporters approached her outside the Bhopal airport Saturday night, she alleged the airline staff "did not behave properly with passengers".
"They did not give me the booked seat. I asked them to show the rules. I called the director and lodged a complaint with him," she said.
The airport director, Anil Vikram, confirmed he received a complaint from Thakur.
"I have got her complaint about seat allotment. We will look into it on Monday," he said.
The SpiceJet spokesperson said: "The Delhi-Bhopal flight is operated by Bombardier Q400 aircraft (78 seater). On this aircraft, the first row is the emergency row seat and is not allocated to passengers on wheelchairs.
"As the BJP MP had come with her own wheelchair and had not booked through the airline, the staff wasn't aware of this fact that she was a wheelchair passenger.
"She was requested by the crew to shift to 2 A/B (non-emergency row) due to safety reasons but she refused. The duty manager and other staff also requested her to move to another seat," the spokesperson said.
She asked for the safety instruction document wherein the exit door policy is mentioned and the same was shown to her to provide clarity, according to the budget carrier's spokesperson.
"As the flight was getting delayed other passengers were becoming restless and requested Hon'ble Smt. Thakur to change her seat but she refused. Other passengers also requested the airline staff to offload Hon'ble Smt. Thakur as she refused to change her seat.
12/22/2019 4:21:57 PM"Finally, Hon'ble Smt. Pragya Thakur agreed to change her seat from 1A to 2B and the flight departed. We regret for the inconvenience caused. However, safety of our passengers is paramount at SpiceJet," the spokesperson added.
(With PTI inputs)
