E-Paper
Ex-army officer flays IndiGo for ‘succumbing to VIP pressure’; no VIP was on board, says airline
Countering Major General (retired) Birender Dhanoa's claims that he was ‘bumped off my paid seat,’ the carrier said the seat was changed only after his permission. However, Major General (retired) Dhanoa rejected the explanation.
Prefer HTon Google
Major General (retired) Birender Dhanoa, who claimed on Twitter he was ‘bumped off my paid seat’ on an IndiGo flight to make way for some former bureaucrat and party', rejected the airline's explanation that a ‘group of four elderly passengers, who had walking issues, inadvertently selected emergency row at the time of check-in. ’
“Sorry don’t buy that. They walked off the plane all sprightly. Be honest in your admission of whatever it was you were up to. We aren’t gullible fools. It was at the boarding gate that I was told about the switch, after check in and bag drop. No attempt was made to info me prior,” the former army officer said on Twitter.
Major General (retired) Dhanoa further sought to know from the Gurugram-headquartered carrier why should he be inconvenienced for someone else's mistake.
“Does it sound logical? I mean, if it was this elderly group’s mistake in seat selection could you not have sat them on regular vacant seats? Anyhow, you’ve lost my goodwill,” he posted.
The retired army man's tweet came after responding to his original post, IndiGo said there was no VIP or bureaucrat travelling on the flight.
“As per the safety guidelines, only able bodied can sit on the emergency row. Therefore, our team had to change their seats. We also understand that the seat was changed post your consent and the seat charges have been refunded to you. We apologise for the inconvenience that this may have caused,” it said.
In his tweets, Major General (retired) Dhanoa did not give any name name or provide details of the episode; however, the flight in question connects Goa and Delhi. The veteran also claimed he wasn't the only one who faced this situation.
