New Delhi : Disapproving cabin crew members’ permission to playback singer Sonu Nigam to use the Passenger Addressing System for singing on board Jet Airways, former Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Kanu Gohain on Friday said a deterrent action must be taken against the defaulters.
“As I got to know about the suspension, I am not satisfied. Suspension is just a word. What I want to know is what the punishment is after this suspension. Suspension just means that one cannot fly for a few days but one can later return to work. What effect will this have? I will do it again,” he told ANI.
“It must have happened in the know-how of the captain. The captain should have reported the issue. A deterrent action must be taken to send out a strong message. Severe action must be taken including termination of services. This will send a message to cabin crew of other airlines,” he added.
Gohain said even though he respected Sonu Nigam, passengers should not meddle with the systems of the aircraft.
“The cabin crew is trained to use the equipments. It is the cabin crew who gave him the equipment. He obviously did not get it without their permission. The crew has gone away from their primary duties. The passengers should not meddle with the Passenger Addressing System as it is used to make important announcements,” he said.
“I have respect for all artists. But the cabin crew also has responsibilities,” he added.
Earlier today, the DGCA cited a series of violations that took place during singer Sonu Nigam’s concert on Jet Airways in justification of its order to the airline to suspend the five air hostesses on board for allowing the singer to use the in-flight intercom.
DGCA sources said the in-flight intercom was used for song, which is a violation of set procedures; the forward galley was unattended; the aircraft was descending due to a large number of passengers standing in the aisle area; the passengers could have been hurt in case of clear weather turbulence; and the crew was not aware of the cabin activity.
On January 4, passengers on a Jet Airways chartered plane requested Nigam to sing for them. Nigam obliged and sang two popular songs from flight’s address system.
However, this did not go down too well with the DGCA, after a video of Nigam’s mid-air concert was posted by some passengers on social media.
The Jet Airways said in its a statement that the flight announcement system was allegedly misused and a corrective training to reinforce strict adherence to operating procedure would be given to the plane’s staff.
Playback singer Sonu Nigam, however, lashed out Jet Airways for suspending the crew members, said that the entire incident reeked of ‘intolerance’. (ANI)