Kunal Kamra shares ‘airport look’ before first flight since four airlines banned him

My airport look all thanks to @airvistara following due process…#lovevistara pic.twitter.com/HDoF8CZJvP

— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) February 2, 2020

AirAsia India and Vistara had told The Indian Express that they were waiting for a direct instruction form the government to bar Kamra. A senior executive from one of the airlines said on the condition of anonymity that they could not consider a tweet as an official instruction.

“We need to follow the DGCA rules, which require such matters to be investigated first by an internal committee. Even if we were to go by what the government is saying, we need to follow the process, and it was not possible in a matter of a few hours.” the official said.

Many who came across Kamra’s tweet praised the airline for not acting hastily acting following the incident. Here are some of the reactions:

Dear @airvistara if you have or starting international services towards Middle East, Africa and Europe. I’ll travel with you for next 5 years without complaining on ur services or efficiency for the courage you’ve shown in times of adversity.

— junaid احمد جنید (@ahmedjunaid007) February 2, 2020

Dear, @airindiain @IndiGo6E @flyspicejet , follow DGCA’s rules not Suri’s tweets.

Good @kunalkamra88

— Ayaaz Ahmad Qaasmi (@Ayaz_Ind) February 2, 2020

#ArnabGoswami has instructed his travel agent to check @kunalkamra88 itinerary before booking a flight for him😉😉

— Anu M (@stylistanu) February 2, 2020

Good job @airvistara. At times not following the herd is the best thing for society. Thanks!

— Arijit Ghosh (@Chukai_Ghosh) February 2, 2020

The cap looks amazing, Kunal! 🧢🔵🔴

— FCB Mumbai (@fcbmumbai) February 2, 2020

Slap on 3 idiots-IndiGo, GoAir & Spicejet. Their loss is Vistara’s gain!!

— Joseph C V (@joseph_vengal) February 2, 2020

Bhakts reaction after this #lovevistara pic.twitter.com/D6DhVT18MH

— Khadeer Bukhari (@BukhariKhadeer) February 2, 2020

Vistara has earned our respect✊🏽 . Shall always prefer this Airline over the other bootlickers.

— Sheeba Aslam Fehmi (@SheebaAslamFehm) February 2, 2020

Karma to haters after flight: pic.twitter.com/Nv4ZIjZVSm

— Akshay Kashyap (@Liberal_Tiger) February 2, 2020

pic.twitter.com/TaqPgdEPnQ

— Einstein 🇮🇳 (@DesiPoliticks) February 2, 2020

pic.twitter.com/cqlT9nBoTL

— Einstein 🇮🇳 (@DesiPoliticks) February 2, 2020

My respect for Vistara only goes up. Long live TATA

— Sandeep Singh4 (@Sandeep10787256) February 2, 2020

Government officials told The Indian Express that IndiGo’s move to ban the Mumbai-based stand-up comedian for six months was not in line with laid-down regulations which stipulate that pending a decision by an internal committee of the airline concerned, it “may ban such (an) unruly passenger from flying, but such period may not exceed a period of 30 days”. (Kunal Kamra barred on flights – What are the rules?)

The pilot of the flight on which Kamra and Goswami were travelling conveyed to IndiGo that he was “disheartened to learn that my airline has taken action in this case solely on the basis of social media posts, with no consultation whatsoever with the Pilot-in-Command”.

However, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri defended the six-month flight ban imposed by four airlines on Kamra, saying an incident similar to this in a country like the US would have resulted in the passenger being “locked up’’ after the flight landed.

On February 1, Kamra sent a legal notice to IndiGo demanding an unconditional apology, a revocation of the ban and a compensation of Rs 25 lakh.