April 27, 2026 03:43 pm (IST)
Follow us:
Three of a family offloaded from AI flight to accommodate Union Minister Kiren Rijju
New Delhi, Jul 1 (IBNS) An Air India flight was delayed last week for about an hour and three passengers, including a child, was offloaded to accommodate union minister Kiren Rijiju and Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh.
Media reports said on June 24, an Air India flight was about to leave from Leh for Delhi when an Indian Air Force Officer, his wife and child were reportedly asked to get off the plane for Rijju and Singh who had reached the airport at the last minute after attending a festival.
However, they have both denied delaying the flight and said Air India had rescheduled the 11.40 am flight and advanced it at short notice.
Nirmal Singh admitted that some passengers were offloaded. "Some passengers said they felt inconvenience, we apologised to them," he told NDTV.
Offering clarification on the offloaded family the union home ministry said : "Our administration arranged our tickets and we were never informed that to make our seats, three passengers have been deboarded. Had we been informed, we would have never appreciated this step of the administration."
Rijiju posted on Facebook on Thursday that a "wrong story" was being reported and offered his boarding pass as proof that the flight time was changed.
The minister said when told that the flight had been advanced to 10:20 am, "I rushed to the Airport along with Dy CM of Jammu & Kashmir who also had a boarding pass printed with 11:40 dept time. Due to change in time inconvenience was created & Dy CM was very upset so he has lodged a complaint against the Pilots & Officials who preponed the Flight."
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Faith in justice shattered’: Kejriwal boycotts Delhi HC judge who refused to recuse
Mon, Apr 27 2026
Engine fire forces SWISS flight to abort in Delhi, 6 injured
Sun, Apr 26 2026
Raghu Rai, who captured India’s soul, dies at 83
Sun, Apr 26 2026
DRDO unveils next-gen advanced armoured platforms — India’s battlefield power just got a massive upgrade!
Sat, Apr 25 2026
Raghav Chadha joins BJP, social media users hit unfollow button—10 lakh gone in 24 hours
Sat, Apr 25 2026