New Delhi: Air India, the country’s national carrier, finally fulfilled its promise to ban Kunal Kamra and cancelled his ticket when he had booked a flight from Jaipur to Mumbai. However, the joke was on Air India as they banned Kunal Kamra, a resident of Boston currently visiting his family in India and not Kunal Kamra the comedian who “heckled” Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.
About a week ago, comedian Kunal Kamra came to know that he and Goswami wee on the same flight (IndiGo). Taking the opportunity, Kamra questioned the journalist about his style of journalism.
For his actions, IndiGo banned him, following which Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir did the same.
Kunal Kamra, the American resident not the comedian, had a flight from Jaipur to Mumbai on February 3 afternoon with Air India. Kamra told India Today that when he reached the check-in counter, he was told that his PNR had been cancelled. When he enquired why this happened, he was told that his name was blacklisted. He said he knew why the other Kamra (the comedian) was banned but did not understand why he was banned.
While Kamra found the incident unpleasant, he said that the Air India ground staff were very helpful. “Luckily, I had ample time before the flight, so everything was sorted out,” he told the news portal. He said that he was issued another ticket, however, the burden of proof was on him. “I had to prove that I am not this person. Before the flight, I wasn’t informed that my ticket was cancelled. I didn’t even get a proper explanation as to why my ticket was cancelled. They only cancelled my ticket because I have the exact same name as another person. This is not acceptable as many people might have the same name,” he added.
Kamra had to prove that he was not the comedian by showing the staff two different ID-cards. “The whole scenario was confusing. My Aadhaar copy was enough for the airline, but the security wasn’t convinced even after I showed them all my Indian IDs. It was only after I showed them my American ID that they believed me,” he told India Today.
Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar told the news portal that comedian Kunal Kamra has been banned from boarding Air India flights and since it is mentioned in their system, Kamra’s name was automatically rejected. “The passenger was allowed to board the flight after all his credentials were verified,” he added.
As Kamra had a flight with IndiGo, he called to confirm that his ticket was still confirmed, after having gone through this experience.
The comedian, Kunal Kamra reacted to the incident calling it “Collateral damage”.
