Updated March 5th, 2019 at 14:06 IST
Air India refuses to be cowed by Mehmooba Mufti's jibe, state-airline's chief reiterates 'Jai Hind' and priority boarding for forces. Read his statement
Despite Mehbooba Mufti's attempt to politicising the situation, Chairman & Managing Director of Air India Ashwani Lohani has reiterated its earlier decision of saying 'Jai Hind' after onboard announcements in Air India flights.
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Despite Mehbooba Mufti's attempt to politicising the situation, Chairman & Managing Director of Air India Ashwani Lohani has reiterated its earlier decision of saying 'Jai Hind' after onboard announcements in Air India flights.
He said, "After all national pride has to be integral to the national carrier and we need to give armed force personnel the respect and gratitude that."
Furthermore, Air India has announced that priority boarding will be given to Armed Force personnel at airports.
In a tweet, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said that the 'josh of patriotism' has reached the skies ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The tweet read: Little surprise that with General Elections around the corner, the josh of patriotism hasn’t even spared the skies.
The advisory has been marked to all crew members of the cash-strapped carrier. During his first stint as Air India's Chairman and Managing Director, Ashwani Lohani had issued a similar direction to pilots in May 2016. According to officials, the current advisory is a "reminder" to the staff, in line with the "mood of the nation".
"The captain of a flight should often connect with passengers during the journey and, at the end of the first address, using the words 'Jai Hind' would make a tremendous impact," Lohani said in a communication to his staff in May 2016.
Last month, the central government called back retired technocrat Lohani to head the carrier as chairman and managing director for a second time within two years.
Besides, Lohani in his communication had also asked the staff to be "courteous and polite" to passengers and said wearing a smile would be a "good thing".
This comes two days after PDP leader Mufti went on a twitter rampage demanding the government to provide evidence of the air-strikes conducted by the Indian Air Force in Pakistan. Off late, Mehbooba Mufti has been taking to twitter to express her thoughts on the on-going India-Pakistan tensions and has even claimed that the Balakot strikes will benefit BJP 'electorally'.
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Published March 5th, 2019 at 13:40 IST
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