AP Speaker gets into tiff with Air India crew on-board, threatens to teach 'lesson'
New Delhi: AP Assembly Speaker Dr Kodela Siva Prasada Rao became embroiled in a controversy following complaints that he had allegedly misbehaved with cabin crew on an Air India flight from Hyderabad to Vijayawada.
Mr Rao said the staff was rude to him.
The row erupted after the crew asked Mr Rao’s acquaintance, who was sitting with him in executive class, to return to his seat. Dr Rao apparently lost his cool at this.
Dr Kodela Siva Prasada Rao allegedly pushed his food tray on the cabin crew while on board the Air India flight and threatened to teach them a lesson later.
He was angry that another passenger on the flight, (learnt to be former IAS official K. Laxminarayana) was asked to return to his seat. Though Mr Laxminarayana returned without making a scene, Dr Rao was angry.
The cabin crew has filed a report. Sources said that one of the air hostesses, who was at the receiving end of Dr Rao's ire, was in tears and reported the incident on board to the pilots.
Sources said that when Mr Laxminarayana was politely asked by the cabin crew to return to his seat, the duo offered to pay for upgrading his ticket. The crew, however, declined as it was against the rules.
Following the AP Speaker’s outburst, the flight crew may take up the matter with the airline’s top management. “It is sad to see how some politicians are throwing their weight around in the national carrier. They have to learn to respect rules and the airline personnel who try to enforce them,” said a source.
Meanwhile, Dr Rao said, “Yesterday evening I was travelling to Vijayawada in the business class of an Air India flight. Former Union minister Bolla Buli Ramaiah was also sitting with me in the same row. There was a vacant seat by my side. While boarding I had seen former IAS official K. Laxminarayana, who had worked with Chandrababu Naidu when he was CM, and came and sat in economy class with him.
“It seems that Mr Ramaiah told the cabin crew about both of us sitting in economy class. The cabin crew then came to me and requested me to sit in business class. Reluctantly we both went and sat in business class. After the flight took off and they were serving snacks, the cabin crew, in a most discourteous way, asked Mr Laxminarayana to go back to economy class. Hurt by their behaviour Mr Laxminarayana followed their orders and went back to economy class. Because of this I got irritated and refused to take the snacks offered by the cabin crew and scolded them saying that it was on their request that both of us had moved to business class.”
“They had no business to invite us and later insult us in the most undignified way. When I was asking the cabin crew to identify themselves, one or two of them removed their nametags and hid them. This further angered me. After getting down at Vijayawada, I contacted Mr Gajapathi Raju’s peshy. One Hari Preeth, supposedly from civil aviation services, called me from Delhi. I told her what happened and she apologised for the cabin crew’s behaviour. I said would lodge a complaint with the civil aviation ministry. After reaching Vijayawada I lodged a complaint and demanded action against those responsible,” Dr Rao said.
