Updated

New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI): Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who is in the midst of a row over offloading of passenger and delaying a flight from Leh to Delhi, today tendered an apology even as he insisted that he was not aware of some others not being allowed to board.

"Air India, being a government PSU, we as ministers, have the moral responsibility if any passenger has undergone any inconvenience. We must say sorry to them on behalf of the government and ensure that such incidents do not occur in future," he told PTI over phone from Darjeeling.

The controversy erupted after reports that a family of three persons, including a child, was not allowed on the flight to accommodate Rijiju, his aide and Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on June 24.

The Minister of State for Home said he was not aware if any passenger was not allowed to board the flight due to the delayed arrival in the terminal.

"The deboarding of three passengers was never informed to me and this step would have never been appreciated if brought to the notice on the same day," he said.

Rijiju said the original schedule departure time of the flight AI-446 was 1115 hours on June 24 and boarding time was 1045 hours.

Boarding card of Nirmal Singh, who was accompanying Rijiju, is a "proof", he said.
The Union Minister said as per the original programme, he was supposed to take a BSF helicopter from Leh to Jammu and from there to travel by normal flight to reach Delhi.

"Because of the bad weather, the BSF helicopter could not take off from Jammu and Leh administration was asked to book a ticket in last flight from Leh to Delhi. This is normal routine arrangements in bad weather or kind of situations for VIPs protocol," he said.

Rijiju said a complaint has been lodged by the Deputy Chief Minister to the Civil Aviation Minister regarding the advancement and "misbehaviour" of the Air India pilot.

The Minister said his boarding pass was not retained for evidence because he never knew that it would required for this day. "But the Deputy Chief Minister kept as a record to produce as evidence for the complaint," he said.

Earlier Report

Union Minister 'delays' Air India flight, 3 'offloaded' to accommodate him, PA

New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI): Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was at the centre of a controversy for delaying an Air India flight from Leh to Delhi for about an hour and for the offloading of three of its passengers, including a child, allegedly to accommodate him and his aide.

According to sources, the aircraft doors were shut for takeoff on June 24 but the flight did not depart at its scheduled time as Rijuju, along ith his PA, had to be onboard. When he arrived, three passengers were allegedly deboarded to accommodate the minister and his PA, sources said.

While an Air India spokesman said it has sought more details on the incident, Rijuju claimed it was not a "delay" as the departure of the flight was "preponed" due to technical reasons.

"The departure was at 1140 hrs...I don't know...somehow there was a rescheduling issue...It was not a delay..it was a communication gap," Rijiju said.

Rijiju told PTI from Darjeeling that he was returning to Delhi after taking part the "Sindhu Darshan" festival on June 24 along with Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh in an Air India flight which was "suddenly rescheduled."

"I was supposed to return from Leh in a helicopter. But due to bad weather, the helicopter could not come from Srinagar to take me from Leh. Then the Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister asked me to accompany him in the Air India flight which was supposed to depart at 11.40 AM.

"But to our utter surprise, when we reached the Leh airport at 10.20, we found that the door of the aircraft was closed and it was about to take off. Then the Deputy Chief Minister lodged a strong protest with the Civil Aviation Minister for the unannounced rescheduling of the aircraft," Rijiju said.

He said that after sometime, he and Singh were allowed to board the plane "and we could fly."

Asked whether three passengers were made to deboard the flight to accommodate him, Rijiju said he was not aware of any such thing. "I am totally unaware whether anyone was asked to deboard. If it was done, it is completely wrong and unacceptable," he said.