Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader Rahool Kanal says, ban flights to Turkey

Rahool Kanal has given IndiGo a week to suspend their flights to Turkey, and end their wet lease with Turkish Airlines. File pics

Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader Rahool N Kanal has urged for a ban on all flights from Mumbai to Turkey in light of the growing strain in relations with the West Asian country after it threw its support behind Pakistan during the ongoing Indo-Pak conflict.

Kanal, who is also Founder of the NGO I love Mumbai, wrote to Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and the Cabinet Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu: "Banning these flights would be a fitting response to Turkey's actions, demonstrating India's commitment to national security and sovereignty."

With an evident decline in the number of Indian tourists headed to Turkey, a nationalistic sentiment is seen among Indians. Giving a week's time to IndiGo to suspend their flights to Turkey, and end their wet lease with Turkish Airlines, Kanal added, "Even if Indigo refuses to suspend their flights, I believe that most people working on ground in the system will refuse to work to show solidarity with our country."

Further stating that this issue is bigger than political reasons, Kanal said, "This is not about differences between Hinduism and Islam, as many think. It is about putting the country forward and not contributing to the tourism revenue that Turkey earns." In a letter addressed to Indigo Airlines, he stated, "Continuing to operate flights to Turkey may be seen as condoning their stance on terrorism."

With India having already revoked the security clearance of Turkish ground handling company Celebi, it remains to be seen if any steps will be taken on the suspension of flights. Despite mid-day's attempts to reach out to IndiGo, the airline refused to comment on the matter.