DGCA panel finds ‘inappropriate’ handling by IndiGo staff in Ranchi denied boarding case

The DGCA said it has issued a “showcause notice” to IndiGo after a fact-finding committee found the airline staff prima facie violated regulations in denying boarding to a specially abled child at the Ranchi airport recently.

Updated on: May 16, 2022, 18:18:43 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aniruddha Dhar, New Delhi

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A panel of the aviation regulator DGCA said it has issued a “showcause notice” to IndiGo after a fact-finding committee found the airline staff prima facie violated regulations in denying boarding to a specially abled child at the Ranchi airport recently. The airline had said the boy was denied boarding as he was "visibly in panic".

IndiGo was accused of denying boarding to a child with disability.  (Facebook )

On May 7, an IndiGo manager did not allow the child to board a flight. According to an eyewitness account shared on Twitter, the airlines allegedly announced that the child was a flight risk. He even compared the child's condition, teenage assertiveness, to that of drunken passengers. The flight departed for Hyderabad, leaving behind the child and their parents.

DGCA had ordered the fact-finding probe a day after an eyewitness account of the incident went viral on Twitter

The DGCA had constituted a three-member team in connection with the incident. The aviation regulator added that based on the outcomes of the said inquiry, further action shall entail.

Also Read | IndiGo row: DGCA forms 3-member 'fact-finding' team

“The committee has submitted its report. The proceedings of the committee were partly held in the open and partly in camera as per the request of the affected family. The findings of the committee prima facie indicate inappropriate handling of passengers by the Indigo staff thereby resulting in certain non-conformances with the applicable regulations,” the DCGA said.

It added that it has been decided to issue a “show-cause notice" to the concerned airline through its authorised representative to explain as to “why suitable enforcement action should not be taken against them for the non-conformances”.

The regulator also said the airlines has been provided an opportunity for personal hearing as well as for making written submissions by May 26. After hearing their submissions, appropriate action as per law would be taken.

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