When we pay thousands of bucks to an airline company while booking our tickets, we automatically assume that our safety is their topmost priority and whatever they are charging is for our own good.
We do not doubt the intentions of that airline and fly with 100% trust in them.
However, recently, a video released by Gaurav Taneja, ex-Captain of AirAsia, reveals something very shocking and absolutely opposite to our belief, which has left us all surprised and furious.
What Happened?
Gaurav Taneja is an ex-Captain of AirAsia Airlines and has gained popularity in recent years by his YouTube channel which goes by the name of Flying Beast.
His wife and he, Ritu Rathee (also a pilot), very frequently post their vlogs (video blogs) which are loved by people.
He made an official announcement on Twitter on the 14th of June that he has been suspended from the company. In a video released by him today, he talks about why he was suspended from AirAsia airlines.
Gaurav starts the narration by disclosing the unfavorable sick leave policies of the company. He mentions that the job of a pilot is very different from a regular 9-5 office job because a pilot has the responsibility of hundreds of passengers who are traveling with him in the flight.
A person who is in the corporate sector can still show up to work for a few hours, but a pilot cannot afford to do so because he has to be in 100% good condition to fly the plane. Not doing so compromises the safety of passengers, which is more or less equivalent to plotting a murder, he says.
On 24th March, he applied for sick leave, yet he was asked to report to work, endangering the lives of passengers on board. As per his video, when he attempted to take up this issue with the company, they tried to buy his silence by pointing out his lifestyle problems and blamed him for the financial loss of the company.
Read More: AirAsia Honours Indian Doctors By Giving 50,000 Seats Almost Free On Domestic Flights
Breach In Passenger Safety
He shares how a pilot is sometimes forced to go ahead with the landing technique which might not be very safe, just to save 8 kgs of fuel! This is called Flap 3 landing.
In the month of March, he made 7 Flap 4 landings out of 10 to ensure the foremost safety of everyone on board, keeping the situation in mind. However, there was pressure from the company to achieve the target of 98% Flap Landing, which Gaurav Taneja could not meet.
He received an official notice from the airlines regarding the same, which is morally unjust.
The value of 8 kgs of fuel cannot even be compared with hundreds of human lives.
He was terminated for pointing out gaps in the safety protocols of the airlines. The actual reason was masked by saying that the suspension is because of loss of business during COVID-19.
Reaction Of Netizens
The video took Twitter by storm. Within just a few minutes, #BoycottAirAsiaIndia became the top trending hashtag in the country.
If all this is true, then risking innocent lives just for saving a few rupees is extremely immoral.
People have shown anguish and discontent in a nationally reputed airline company for favoring their profit margins over the safety of passengers on board.
The stocks of AirAsia also collapsed today in light of this event.
On YouTube also, thousands of people have shown full support to the now ex-captain Taneja and congratulated him for showing courage and making this video, highlighting the fallacies in the airlines.
It is sad that the world is under the influence of a pandemic and despite burning a hole in our pockets, the airlines are allegedly taking our safety very lightly.
Image Source: Twitter, YouTube
Sources: Twitter, YouTube
This post is tagged under: flying beast, Gaurav Taneja, captain of AirAsia, pilot in AirAsia, Ritu rathee Taneja, is airplane safe, is flying in AirAsia safe, how much fuel does a flight need, the truth behind AirAsia, safety of passengers at risk, unsafe landing, who is responsible, sick leave of pilot, safety protocol of AirAsia, why was Gaurav Taneja flying beast suspended, was the suspension of flying beast wrong, gaurav taneja suspended, reason, why, youtube video, tweet, safety measures, lifestyle, flap 4 landings, notice, viral video on airasia
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