Air India senior officer suspended for squabble with flyer; Delhi to Amristar flight delayed by 30 min

Air India has suspended a senior officer for "indiscipline" after he got into an altercation with a passenger over a business class seat on a domestic flight. Following the altercation, the flight from Delhi to Amristar was delayed by more than half-an-hour. The national carrier in a statement said that the officer has been placed under suspension. The details about the suspended official and when the incident happened could not be immediately ascertained.

"On a recent flight from Delhi to Amritsar, a senior commercial officer, who has just returned from a foreign posting got into a major altercation with a passenger over a business class seat. The argument over such a trivial issue on a short-duration flight led to the delay of the flight by 33 minutes," Air India said. 

Air India Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola also issued an advisory urging employees to stick to high disciplinary standards. "Indiscipline of any sort will not be tolerated from any employee irrespective of hierarchy or area of work," Air India said in its statement.

Meanwhile, the government is searching for a suitable buyer for Air India. However, the national carrier's unions have spoken out loud about their opinions against disinvestment move. More than 10,000 employees of Air India's unions carried a protest on social media like Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook over possible job loss worries. 

A lot of companies have shown interest for purchasing this state-run airline. However, what is very crucial is to decide the exact valuation for selling Air India, which has its roots in India that go as far back as 1932. Also, it needs to be noted that, Air India is also a key factor for the government to achieve its disinvestment target.