Army officer who assaulted airport staff put on no-fly list

NEW DELHI: Major Indian airlines have banned the army officer who allegedly assaulted four members of the SpiceJet staff at Srinagar airport in July, an action prompted by the severity of the attack that left one of the employees severely injured, officials aware of the details said on Monday.

- Neha LM Tripathi

“IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express and Akasa Air have imposed a ban,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity. “This was done taking into account the gruesome nature of the attack that left one of the employees with two fractures on his back, making him bedridden for three months.”

The incident took place on July 26, at the boarding gate of flight SG 386 from Srinagar to Delhi.

According to SpiceJet's statement released after the incident, the dispute began after staff informed the officer, who was later identified as Lieutenant Colonel Ritesh Kumar Singh, that his two cabin bags weighed 16kg, more than double the 7kg limit.