Last night, Kerala governor Justice P Sathasivam failed to board an Air India flight from Kochi airport after he reached the airport late.
The Air India flight was scheduled to depart from Kochi International Airport at 11.40 pm. The governor reached the airport before the flight's departure and was told by the Air India crew that "doors have been shut and the aircraft had already pushed back," Press Trust of India reported.
Reportedly, the governor and his wife were on their way back after attending a function in Kozhikode. They were informed by the airline manager that the Delhi-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram flight A1048 would take off at 11.40 pm.
"We got a communication from the airport that the flight will take off at 11.40 PM. However, when the Governor, accompanied by his wife reached the airport at 11.28 PM to board the flight, we saw the step ladder had been removed and the flight was pushing back," according to sources, as reported by Press Trust of India.
The source further added, an AI official was waiting at the door of their aircraft with their boarding passes (the governor and his wife's) but by the time the governor reached the tarmac, the "gates had closed and the plane had pushed back," as per PTI.
After an overnight stay in a hotel, the governor and his wife reached the capital city the next day by car.
Sources at Raj Bhavan said they will take up the matter with the appropriate authorities and, on the other hand, Air India officials have said they were looking into the matter.
