Tejasvi Surya didn't open emergency exit, rested hand on it, insists TN BJP chief; Air India bans Shankar Mishra for 4 months

Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai said on Thursday that BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya, did not open the emergency exit of an IndiGo aircraft they were travelling in recently.

Surya is being targeted by the opposition Congress in Karnataka over the issue after reports emerged that it was the BJP MP who had allegedly pulled open the emergency exit of an IndiGo flight before take-off at the Chennai airport in December last year.

Speaking to the media in Chikkamagaluru, Annamalai said that he was accompanying Surya in the flight when the alleged incident took place on December 2, last year.

"We were travelling in an ATR-72 aircraft in which the emergency exit door was located in the front. Tejasvi Surya had placed his hand on the door as his seat did not have an arm-rest. At that point, he drew my attention to some gaps in the door beading. So I informed the air hostess who reported the matter to the pilot," Annamalai said.

Annamalai, a former IPS officer who had worked as the superintendent of police in Chikkamagaluru, insisted that Surya did not open the emergency door at all. "He did not pull the door. He was simply resting his hand on it."

The controversy was triggered on Tuesday afte IndiGo released a statement saying that a passenger had opened the emergency exit of its Chennai-Tiruchirapalli flight on December 10, 2022, leading to a two-hour delay in flight departure.

While the airline did not name the passenger responsible, some passengers travelling on the same flight had confirmed that it was Tejasvi Surya. Meanwhile, Surya has told IANS that a statement would be issued soon. However, no clarification has come from the MP thus far.

Peeing Incident: Air India ban

The Independent Internal Committee probing the Air India peeing incident concluded that Shankar Mishra is covered under the definition of "unruly passenger" and is banned from flying for a period of four months.

An Air India spokesperson on Thursday said, "The independent three-member Internal Committee under the Chairmanship of the former District Judge has concluded that Shankar Mishra is covered under the definition of "unruly passenger" and is banned from flying for a period of 4 months as per the relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR)."

The airline said that it will inform the regulator and other airlines accordingly. "The passenger has already been put on the airline's "No Fly List". Air India has shared a copy of the Internal Committee report with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and will also be intimating other airlines operating in the country."

After the renewed ban by Air India, other airlines can take their own decision on whether any ban should be imposed on the individual.

The incident occurred on November 26 last year when the drunk passenger allegedly urinated on a co-passenger in her 70s in the business class of an Air India flight from New York to Delhi.

(With inputs from IANS)