Airplane Concert in India Lands Crew in Trouble


09 February, 2016

Five crew members for a chartered flight in India are suspended after permitting a Bollywood star to sing to the passengers.

The Jet Airways crew let singer Sonu Nigam use the plane's announcement system in flight on January 4.

Jet Airways confirmed the suspensions after video of the airplane performance appeared online.

Indian Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam performed at The Asian Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, Oct. 26, 2010.
Indian Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam performed at The Asian Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, Oct. 26, 2010.

An official said all cabin crew members from the flight have been taken off flight duty during the investigation.

Reports say passengers asked Nigam to sing for them once they realized he was on the flight from Jodhpur to Mumbai. He agreed.

He sang two of his popular songs over the plane's announcement system. Passengers posted video of the performance on social media.

The video went viral.

Government officials who learned of the incident asked the airline to take action.

The incident has led to strong arguments online both for and against the action.

Supporters of the airline's decision to suspend the crew say misuse of the announcement system puts passengers at risk. But, others say the concert only gave passengers a bit of fun.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Ashley Thompson adapted this report for Learning English from VOANews. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

Do you think the in-flight Bollywood concert put passengers in danger? We want to hear from you! Write to us in the Comments section or on 51VOA.COM.

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Words in This Story

chartered - adj. hired for temporary use

viral - adj. relating to an image, video, advertisement, etc., that is spread rapidly on the Internet.