Mid-air Joy Ride of Newly-wed Couple, Relatives Puts SpiceJet in Spot

CHENNAI:
A post wedding joy ride by a marriage party onboard a SpiceJet aircraft has put the private airline in a spot with videos of the celebrations going viral on social media.

According to SpiceJet, a travel agent in Madurai had chartered one of its Boeing 737 on Sunday for a group of passengers for a post-wedding joy ride.

“The client was clearly briefed on the Covid guidelines to be followed and was denied permission for any activity to be performed onboard. The approval for this flight was taken as a joy ride for the wedding group,” the airline said.

“The agent and the guest passengers were briefed in detail, both in writing as well as verbally, on social distancing and safety norms to be followed as per the Covid guidelines, both at the airport and onboard the aircraft throughout the journey,” the airline added.

The airline also said that the cabin crew briefed the group in the aircraft to follow the protocols laid down by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), including restrictions on photography and videography.

“Despite repeated requests and reminders, the passengers did not follow the Covid guidelines and the airline is taking appropriate action as per rules,” SpiceJet said.

However, the airline declined to answer whether it was aware of the proposed celebrations at the time of booking the flight, and the number of passengers who had boarded the flight.

The airline is also silent on the action taken by the cabin crew against the marriage party post flight.

The videos and images that have gone viral on social media clearly show violation of Covid-19 safety norms, with a large number of people standing extremely close to each other.