NEW DELHI, APRIL 10: With no end in sight to the row involving Kerala MP P V Abdul Wahab and the pilot of an Indian flight who ordered him off the aircraft for allegedly delaying its departure, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the airline are attempting to strike a balance between the two parties.

Raghu Menon, chairman-cum-managing director of National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), today called Wahab, a Rajya Sabha MP, in Dubai and asked him for his version of the April 7 incident at Kozhikode airport which was first reported by The Indian Express.

Wahab claimed he made it to the airport on time. He said when he was boarding the flight, pilot Rajat Rana was in an argument with the Deputy General Manager of the airport over the delay in departure.

Wahab said he then intervened and took on an already agitated Rana, following him to the cockpit. Wahab admitted that he called the pilot a “glorified driver”. This angered the pilot who refused to fly with Wahab on board.

It is learnt that the inquiry being conducted by the NACIL has established a similar sequence of events and is set to follow a “balanced approach”. The inquiry report is likely to be out in two days.

While Wahab has threatened to take the matter to the Privileges Committee of the House and have the pilot grounded, the pilots’ associations have demanded an apology from the MP and called for his blacklisting.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel urged both parties to exercise restraint. “It is an unfortunate incident. But pending inquiry, it is premature to say as to who was at fault. It is not right to say that all MPs are wrong or all pilots are right.”