Non-availability of Wheelchair: Notice to Air India for Death of 80-Year old Passenger
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: The aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday issued a show cause notice to Air India following the death of an 80-year old passenger who decided to walk at Mumbai airport as he was asked to wait due to heavy demand for wheelchairs.
A show cause notice has been issued to the airline for not complying with the provisions and in violation of Aircraft Rules, 1937, and asked to submit a reply to DGCA within seven days.
Further, an advisory has also been issued to all airlines to ensure that an adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers who require assistance during embarking or disembarking from the aircraft during their journey.
The incident happened at the airport on February 12 after the passenger landed in an Air India flight from New York.
In a statement on Friday, Air India said that due to heavy demand for wheelchair, it had requested the passenger to wait for an airline staff-assisted wheelchair but he opted to walk along with his spouse.
“In an unfortunate incident, one of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on February 12, fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was on wheelchair,” the airline said. As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the airline said the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away.
Meanwhile, Akasa Air on Friday expressed regrets at the de-boarding experience of the BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and promised to investigate in detail the incident in which she alleged that staff attempted to create “huge loss” for her. The BJP MP has accused Akasa Airline’s staff of hurting her during de-boarding at Delhi Airport while flying from Mumbai to Delhi on Thursday. The MP in a post on social media platform X on Friday addressed union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and hoped action would be taken against the guilty.
“Union Minister Scindia, when I came to Delhi from Mumbai to Delhi Akasa Air flight number QP1120, duty manager Imran and his associates conspired and tried to cause huge loss to me. I hope you will definitely take action into the issue,” she wrote.
In a statement, Akasa Air spokesperson said, “We regret the de-boarding experience that Member of Parliament Pragya Thakur had on our flight QP1120 on February 15, 2024. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to her. While we will investigate the incident in detail, we take this as an opportunity to learn and to continue improving on our services.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
