Having the dubious distinction of being the first person to be ever grounded by schedule Indian carriers, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad is now desperate to fly again. This week, he reportedly made at least four vain attempts to fly to Delhi using several permutations and combinations of the titles and initials of his names. But each time, Air India – which along with other airlines have barred him from flying since last Friday – detected this and either cancelled the bookings or did not allow it to be made.

“At 6.30 pm on Friday (March 31), an attempt as made to book a ticket online for Delhi-Pune sector of April 3 in the name of Ravindra Gaikwad. Our trackers alerted us and the ticket was cancelled,” said a source.

Before this, the MP’s staff tried to book AI 806 (Mumbai-Delhi) of Wednesday (March 29) for him by contacting the call centre and giving the passenger’s name as Ravindra Gaikwad. This ticket was promptly cancelled. Then a booking was made on AI 551 (Hyderabad-Delhi) the same day in the name of Professor V Ravindra Gaikwad. This too was cancelled, said a source.

The Shiv Sena MP’s staff tried to book a Nagpur to Delhi via Mumbai flight of Thursday (March 30) through a travel agent in the name of “Professor Ravindra Gaikwad”. This booking was not even made as AI and other airlines have last Friday issued a “non-acceptance order” to all their booking offices. Airlines have given the various permutations and combinations of name that may be used as well as the sectors where these attempts are more likely to be made.

AI, for instance, has told all its staff that “restriction on acceptance and travel of potentially unruly and unsafe passengers is being followed on Air India flights for Mr Ravindra Gaikwad”. The Mumbai-Delhi flight was sought to be endorsed on an open ticket he has and the other two were being bought, said the source.

Apart from these three flights, the MP’s two more tickets for Delhi-Pune were cancelled – one each by AI and IndiGo – last Friday. In all, the Shiv Sena MP has had four tickets cancelled and one not allowed to be booked only since last Friday, or six failed attempts to fly in a week!

“The ‘honourable’ MP has not even expressed remorse, forget apologising, for his act of beating up a 60-year-old AI staffer with sandals and for trying to throw him out of the aircraft at Delhi Airport last Thursday. We have had to ban him simply because India does not have a no-fly list otherwise Gaikwad’s name would have been put on that and he would not have been flying. The government must expedite the no-fly list and make the VVIP Parliamentarian the first person it, inaugurate it,” said a senior official of a private airline.

The Shiv Sena has requested Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to get Gaikwad flying again. Mahajan has held joint meetings with aviation minister A G Raju and the Shiv Sena MPs. However citing threat perception to crew, co-passengers and flight safety, airlines including AI, IndiGo, Jet, SpiceJet, GoAir and Vistara have barred Gaikwad from their flights.