This is an archive article published on July 28, 2023

Citing delay, AirAsia doesn’t let Governor of Karnataka board flight, later regrets

The Governor was not allowed to board the Hyderabad-bound aircraft by the airline staff, citing the closure of the flight door, said sources.

Gehlot was scheduled to catch the 2.05 pm AirAsia flight I5-972 from Bengaluru to Hyderabad.

2 min readBengaluruJul 29, 2023 01:40 AM IST First published on: Jul 28, 2023 at 12:39 PM IST

Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot’s office has written to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) over a “breach of protocol” after AirAsia did not let him board a flight to Hyderabad on July 27, citing delay.

Gehlot’s office has also written to the authorities of Kempegowda International Airport and AirAsia over the alleged incident.

Sources in the Governor’s office said Gehlot was due to take the 2.05 pm Bengaluru-Hyderabad flight and had reached the airport 15 minutes before take off. They said the Governor reached the airport’s VIP lounge at 1.50 pm and briefly used the restroom before being escorted to the aircraft.

AirAsia staff, however, did not allow Gehlot to board the aircraft, saying the flight door had been shut, the sources said. The Governor, who was travelling to Raichur via Hyderabad, had to take the next available flight to Hyderabad, around 90 minutes later.