‘Can I walk’: Kunal Kamra’s barb as 4 airlines ban him from flying

GoAir is the fourth airline to bar the comedian from flying after Kunal Kamra tweeted a 111-second video that showed him calling television journalist Arnab Goswami a “coward” and questioning his work ethic and journalism. In another tweet, Kamra said Goswami called him “mentally unstable”.

Air carriers GoAir and SpiceJet on Wednesday banned standup comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline “till further notice” after he allegedly heckled journalist Arnab Goswami abroad an IndiGo flight.

Standup comedian Kunal Kamra has been banned by three airlines after he allegedly heckled journalist Arnab Goswami on an IndiGo flight recently. (Photo Credit: Kunal Kamra / Twitter)

GoAir is the fourth airline to bar the comedian from flying after Kunal Kamra tweeted a 111-second video that showed him calling television journalist Arnab Goswami a “coward” and questioning his work ethic and journalism. In another tweet, Kamra said Goswami called him “mentally unstable”.

IndiGo had responded to the tweet with a six-month ban on Kamra for what it termed as “unacceptable behaviour” during its flight. It announced the ban in a post on Twitter, tagging the civil aviation ministry and aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Hardeep Singh Puri responded with advice to other airlines to impose similar restrictions on Kamra. “Offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers,” the minister said.

Another airline Vistara hasn’t taken a decision yet. An airline spokesperson told news agency PTI that it was firm with its zero-tolerance policy against any behaviour that compromises the safety and underlined that the airline “will follow due process”.

Kamra responded to news of his ban from flying SpiceJet too with a barb that targeted the government.

“Modiji can I walk yaan uspe bhi baan hai (Can I walk or is that too banned)…,” Kamra tweeted.

He had, earlier in the day, claimed to have bumped into Arnab Goswami on a flight from Lucknow this morning and sought an “honest discussion”. But Goswami, according to Kamra, asked him to move away. He complied this time.