Jet Airways suspends 5 cabin crew over Sonu Nigam’s ‘concert’ on flight

NEW DELHI: Jet Airways has suspended five crew members who were part of a chartered flight after aviation watchdog DGCA took serious note of an episode in which singer Sonu Nigam was allowed to belt out Bollywood numbers using the in-flight announcement system.

The incident occurred on a flight from Jodhpur to Mumbai on January 4, when the “errant” crew members allowed Nigam to hold a sort of musical concert on board following a request from fellow passengers, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sources said.

The matter came to DGCA’s notice after a video of Nigam singing on board the flight went viral on social media.

Action has been initiated against the crew members since allowing a passenger to use the public address system on board a flight amounts to violation of safety norms, the sources said.

“All cabin crew on the flight have been taken off flight duty for inquiry and corrective training to reinforce strict adherence to operating procedures,” Jet Airways said in a statement.

As per a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on training and licensing of cabin crew, issued by DGCA in 2010, “the PA (public address) system and interphone system are tools for relaying safety information”.–PTI