Bollywood actor Salman Khan missed his flight to Delhi from Mumbai airport on Monday as he was late in reporting for the boarding process. The airline did not allow him to board as the boarding process was already over, a rule that has been relaxed for VIPs in the past. Interestingly, it was the second flight to Delhi Mr Khan missed on the day. Later, the officials of Vistara Airlines accommodated the actor in a Jet Airways flight.
According to airport officials, Mr Khan was initially booked in Jet Airways flight 9W331, which was supposed to take off at 9.55 am. After the actor missed the flight, he booked himself on Vistara flight UK944, which was supposed to take off at 10.20 am, but Mr Khan reached the boarding gate only around 10.30 am. By this time the push back of the aircraft had already commenced, following which he missed the flight. Mr Khan later left for Delhi by Jet Airways flight 9W307.
Mr Khan was travelling to Delhi on Monday to attend an IOA event.
Commenting on the incident, Mr Khan’s manager told The Asian Age, “Due to heavy traffic at Kalina, Salman missed his flight but booked himself on the next flight and waited in the lounge in between the flights.”
According to Mumbai airport sources, Mr Khan had already received his boarding pass for the Vistara flight, but he stayed in the VIP lounge for a long time and by the time he wanted to board the flight, the boarding process was already over and the airline denied him boarding. Meanwhile, a Vistara spokesperson confirmed that Mr Khan missed his flight but said he was accommodated by the airline in another Jet Airways flight to Delhi.
Some insiders from Mumbai airport claimed that Mr Khan requested the airline to adjust and let him board the flight, but the airline refused and the actor briefly lost his cool. However, airport officials and the airline rejected such claims and said Mr Khan had in fact been laughing as this was the second flight of the day that he had missed.
Mr Khan’s manager, too, said, “There was absolutely no problem. The crew members even took photographs with him.”
