Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 14 : BJP spokesperson Jayrajsinh Parmar on Friday highlighted the lack of facilities in the flight and asserted that if an Air India flight malfunctions, it is the country's name which is maligned.
He said that he boarded the same AI 172 flight from London's Gatwick airport to Ahmedabad on the night of June 6.
He said that it was the same Air India 171 flight which he boarded on June 6, which crashed on June 12 in Ahmedabad. The BJP leader highlighted the lack of facilities in the flight and asserted that if an Air India flight malfunctions, it is the country's name which is maligned.
Parmar said that there are a lot of facilities in other international flights, but "unfortunately", there are none in Air India. The BJP spokesperson added that there seemed to be no proper maintenance of the flight, and as 'Air India' has the word 'India' in it, which maligns the name of the country.
"On the night of June 6, I boarded the AI 172 from Gatwick to Ahmedabad. It was the same flight (which crashed)... If an Air India flight malfunctions, the country's name is maligned... There are a lot of facilities in the rest of the international airlines, but unfortunately, we don't see any of that in Air India. The GPS was not working. There was no internal telecom service, the seats were damaged, and the desks were not working correctly... The flight did not seem to have proper maintenance... The name 'Air India' has the word 'India' in it, which maligns our country and is hurtful", he told ANI.
The AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday. The airline said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash.
The Tata group-owned airline has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Those calling from outside India can call +91 8062779200.
The Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each person who lost their lives in the crash.