Kerala House Protocol Officer suspended after Pinarayi Vijayan stranded at Delhi airport

The Kerala government has suspended Kerala House Protocol Officer, R Sreekumar, pending an inquiry into the charge of failing to ensure the air travel schedule of Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan from New Delhi to Kannur on Saturday. 

Mr Vijayan had arrived at the New Delhi airport only to learn that the flight the protocol office had booked for him had already departed. Mr Vijayan was stranded at the airport for several hours and was forced to take another late flight back home to Kannur. 

Aswathi Sreenivas, Additional Resident Commissioner, Kerala House, conducted a preliminary inquiry and reported to the State government that she had found a failure on the part of Mr Sreekumar in properly liaising with the airline to ensure Mr Vijayan’s hassle-free air travel.

The Leader of the Opposition’s office clarified that Mr Vijayan had not filed any official complaint regarding the airport delay.