“President Was Flying, Not Me,” Clarifies Alphons on Flight Delay

India’s Tourism Minister KJ Alphons was confronted by a passenger at Imphal Airport, after the VVIP movement at the airport resulted in her flight being delayed.

She was on her way to attend a funeral in Patna. Her departure was delayed because the President was flying in to Imphal Airport around that time.

“I was supposed to leave at 2.45. The body will degrade. I know because I’m a doctor,” she said to Alphons. In the video, the minister assures her that her flight would depart after the President’s flight landed (although this wasn’t readily clear from the video).

She asks him to provide an assurance, in writing, that her flight would take off after the President’s flight lands.

In the video, the Tourism Minister responds saying, “I have no authority over this.”

She continues to ask him for an assurance, but the Tourism Minister responds saying, ”What authority do I have to assure you?”

The Tourism Minister replied to the initial allegations of VVIP behaviour, stating that he wasn’t flying out himself, the delay was because the President was landing at Imphal Airport.

Apart from Prime Minister & President there is no protocol for any minister. She had to talk to someone, it is fine with me that she vented her anger on me.

KJ Alphons

“We were at the airport to receive the President, when she approached me. I simply told her that her flight would take off after the President lands, since no flight movement can take place during the President’s arrival. I wasn’t flying out myself. Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha was also with me,” he said.

After the incident, Dr Nirala clarified that her outburst wasn’t intentional, and that she was simply looking for a solution to being delayed at the airport.

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to [e-mail] or WhatsApp @ [phone])