 | « Back to article | Print this article |
"So called this Bernd Hoesslin a pilot with @jetairways called my fellow Indian (u bloody Indian get out of my flight) while he is earning here."
"Not only was he racist, but physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man... absolutely disgraceful and shame on @jetairways."
An expat pilot with Jet Airways hurled "racist" comments at and assaulted a woman and also abused a physically challenged person on a flight, cricketer Harbhajan Singh claimed on Wednesday.
Expressing regret over the incident, Jet Airways said corrective action would be taken as per company policy, and after due investigation.
The pilot concerned remains derostered since the day of the incident, the airline said.
The cricketer was referring to the incident that took place aboard a Chandigarh-Mumbai Jet Airways flight on April 6.
Harbhajan, however told PTI, that he was not on the flight but later learnt of the incident through an acquaintance.
"We are proud Indians, not 'bloody Indians'... I don't need apology, I want this captain to be out of India so no one dare to (sic) call us bloody Indians," the off-spinner said.
In a series of tweets, the cricketer said the pilot assaulted a woman and abused a physically challenged man as he termed the incident as "disgraceful".
"So called this Bernd Hoesslin a pilot with @jetairways called my fellow Indian (u bloody Indian get out of my flight) while he is earning here," Harbhajan said in a series of tweets.
"Not only was he racist, but physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man... absolutely disgraceful and shame on @jetairways," the cricketer said.
Demanding that strict action be taken and such things not be allowed or tolerated in the country, Harbhajan tweeted "#proudtobeindian let's get together and sort this".
Jet Airways said in a statement that it has already issued an apology to the passengers.
"The airline has as per policy initiated a full-fledged investigation, based on specific inputs from guests, concerned departments and agencies," it added.
The airline emphasised that it has zero tolerance towards any action of its employees that contravenes local or international laws prevalent in the countries of its operations.
"Additionally, we have a strict employee code of conduct which is based on the values and ethos of the airline," it added.
The tweets from Harbhajan also come at a time when Jet Airways' local pilots body National Aviators Guild (NAG) has raised concerns about the behaviour of expat pilots at the airline.
Last week, the NAG had said the carrier is treating Indian pilots in a "step-motherly" manner compared to their expat counterparts on the rolls.
Demanding swift action against alleged racist approach of the expat pilots at the airline, the guild had called for disallowing such pilots in the cockpit.
NAG has also asked its members not to fly with the expats in the cockpit after one of the foreign pilots allegedly assaulted a trainer in Bengaluru recently.
Jet Airways has nearly 60 expat commanders who mainly operate its Boeing 737 and ATR fleet.
In response to NAG's allegations, the airline last week said it has a strict and common code for employees.