netizens slammed the guests for not wearing masks
An Indian couple booked a chartered flight and had a mid-air wedding with 170 guests to avoid Covid-19 restrictions.
However, they face trouble after videos of the event went viral on social media.
The couple, identified as Rakesh and Dakshina, booked the SpiceJet flight from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, for a few hours on May 23, 2021.
They held their unique wedding in front of family and friends.
It was reported that the couple exchanged wedding vows in the presence of around 170 guests as soon as the plane flew over the Meenakshi Amman temple.
Footage showed the plane packed with guests.
Meanwhile, the couple, wearing wedding attire, exchanged garlands while a camera operator filmed the moment.
But on May 24, 2021, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered an investigation.
Crew members on board the flight were also suspended.
An official said: “The airport authority officials are totally unaware about the marriage ceremony which took place mid-air.”
The wedding was criticised as netizens slammed the guests for not wearing masks and not following social distancing.
A DGCI official said: “We have de-rostered the crew and directed the airline to lodge a complaint against those not following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour with relevant authorities.
“We will take strict action.”
The official said that the airline has been ordered to lodge a complaint against the Indian couple and their guests.
Rakesh-Dakshina from Madurai, who rented a plane for two hours and got married in the wedding sky. Family members who flew from Madurai to Bangalore after getting married by SpiceJet flight from Bangalore to Madurai. #COVID19India #lockdown @TV9Telugu #weddingrestrictions pic.twitter.com/9nDyn3MM4n
— DONTHU RAMESH (@DonthuRamesh) May 23, 2021
Madurai airport director S Senthil Valavan said the airport authorities did not know about the mid-air wedding.
However, they knew the chartered flight was booked from Madurai.
SpiceJet also said they were unaware of their client’s actual intentions.
The flight had been booked for a “post-wedding joyride”.
In a statement, SpiceJet said:
“The client was clearly briefed on Covid guidelines to be followed and denied permission for any activity to be performed on board.
“The agent and the guest passengers were briefed in detail, both in writing as well as verbally, on social distancing and safety norms to be followed as per Covid guidelines both at the airport and on board the aircraft throughout the journey.”
The Indian couple was slammed and netizens said the wedding could turn out to be a super spreader event.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has lockdown restrictions in place until May 31, 2021.
The number of guests allowed at weddings in the state is capped at 50 per wedding.
The Indian couple’s wedding comes in the midst of India’s raging second wave.
India’s overall death toll from Covid-19 has crossed 300,000.
While the daily infection rate is slowing down it is still adding hundreds of thousands of new cases in each 24-hour period.
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