Air India mistakenly cancelled the ticket of a Boston-based man, namesake of comedian Kunal Kamra, on its Jaipur-Mumbai flight of February 3, according to senior officials.However, he was reissued the ticket and allowed to board the flight once the airline staff at the Jaipur airport realized that he is not the comedian who is on the no-fly list of four airlines, including Air India, the officials said. Mr. Kamra was banned by IndiGo for six months on January 28 for heckling a TV editor on its Mumbai-Lucknow flight.
According to reports, Kamra went through a harrowing experience while trying to fly from Jaipur to Mumbai with the airline. He was at the check-in counter of the Jaipur airport to catch an Air India flight to Mumbai, when he learnt that his ticket has been cancelled. “I was told that my PNR was cancelled and when I asked them why, they said that my name had been blacklisted. I knew why the other Kunal Kamra was blacklisted, but I did not understand why particularly I was blacklisted,” he said. Kamra had to produce two identity cards to prove his identity. He said that the entire situation was confusing as he had to seek clearance from both Jaipur airport security staff and Air India staff before boarding the flight.
Dhananjay Kumar, spokesperson, Air India, said, "Comedian Kunal Kamra is banned from boarding Air India. It's mentioned in our system, that's why his name was automatically rejected. But after verification of all the credentials of the passenger, we allowed him to board the flight."Comedian Kunal Kamra also reacted to the experience of his namesake and called it "Collateral damage."