Air India mulls hefty fines to rein in unruly flyers

India's national carrier Air India is muling hefty fines to rein in unruly flyers, under which any passenger who delays a flight will have to pay a penalty of up to 15 lakh rupees (45,000 U.S. dollars), aviation sources said Monday.

Air India's plan comes barely a month after a lawmaker of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ally Shiv Sena, assaulted one of its employees for being denied a business-class seat in an economy-only flight.

The incident took place last month when Ravindra Gaikwad, the lawmaker, was coming to Delhi from the Maharashtra's Pune city on an Air India flight that apparently did not have a business class.

Following the incident, all Indian airlines imposed a travel ban on the lawmaker though it was lifted earlier this month, following an intervention by the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry.

Even the BJP had strongly condemned the incident. "Elected representatives need to respect people who are doing their job, irrespective of whether the Air India man was rude," said Shaina NC, the BJP spokesperson. Endit