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Furore over IndiGo denying boarding to disabled child, parents at Ranchi airport
Indigo issued a statement saying the child was in a state of panic and the ground staff waited for him to calm down. The family was provided with a hotel stay and they flew to their destination the next morning, the airline said amid huge backlash for the viral account of what happened at Ranchi airport on Saturday.
A Facebook post on how the staff of IndiGo airlines barred an adolescent with special needs from boarding a plane along with his parents at the Ranchi airport on Saturday has created an uproar on social media forcing the airline to issue a statement clarifying why its staff did so. The Facebook post originally shared by Manisha Gupta who witnessed the incident has now gone viral.
"The Indigo staff announced that the child would not be allowed to take the flight. That he was a risk to other passengers. That he would have to become 'normal', before he could be travel-worthy. And the staff then went on to state something on lines of 'behaviours such as this, and that of drunk passengers, deems them unfit to travel," the Facebook post written by Gupta said.
According to the post, there was an uproar following the announcement as other passengers said they did not have any problem with the child and his parents travelling. There were doctors present among the passengers who asked the airport staff to consult the airport doctor, the post said. There was a government official who emerged from the crowd of the passengers and said that the child has the right to travel. The post added that the three of them were finally not allowed to travel, while the chaos continued for some time.
The airline issued a statement in which it said the child was in a state of panic and the ground staff waited for him to calm down but till the last moment he had not calmed down. “The airline made the family comfortable by providing them hotel stay and the family flew next morning to their destination. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers. IndiGo prides itself on being an inclusive organisation, be it for employees or its customers; and over 75k specially-abled passengers fly with IndiGo every month,” the statement read.
Commenting on the incident, disability activist Anjlee Agarwal said the incident is 'flared up'. "While I was drafting the civil aviation rules, ensured no compromises! With realization tht situation can be difficult at pax end also. Situational analysis, dialogue frm both side, finding solutions to #support pax travel is imp.@IndiGo6E is 1 of the best, take utmost care," she wrote.
The viral account also mentions that the child was in great distress initially after having a "very uncomfortable car ride to the airport". As his parents were attending to him with some passengers stopping by to inquire whether they need any assistance, the situation drew the attention of the staff of the IndiGo airlines who said they would not be allowed to board until the child becomes 'normal', the post said adding that when boarding began, the child had his food and juice and was calming down.
