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IndiGo row: Will personally investigate decision to bar child, says Scindia
IndiGo row: Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said he will investigate the matter and that no human being should have to go through such an experience.
A day after it emerged that IndiGo barred a specially abled child from boarding a flight last week in Ranchi as he was in “a state of panic”, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said he will investigate the matter and that no human being should have to go through such an experience.
“There is zero tolerance towards such behaviour. No human being should have to go through this! Investigating the matter by myself, post which appropriate action will be taken,” Scindia tweeted.
The incident took place on Saturday, but came to light on Sunday after several passengers posted about it on social media. The boy, accompanied by his parents, was barred from boarding a flight from Ranchi to Hyderabad.
The airline expressed regret over the incident on Monday, but said it had “made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances” as the boy was in a “state of panic”.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which earlier sought a report from the airline, said a three-member committee will be formed to probe the incident.
“We have received a report from the concerned airline. However, in view of the facts and circumstances described therein, we have decided to conduct an enquiry by a three-member DGCA team. The team will visit Ranchi and Hyderabad (place of stay of the concerned family) and collect appropriate evidence, within one week from today. Based on the outcome of the said enquiry, further action shall entail,” DGCA director general Arun Kumar said.
IndiGo’s chief executive Ronojoy Dutt said in a statement: “We had a very unfortunate incident at Ranchi airport on May 7, 2022, when a specially abled teenager and his parents could not board their scheduled flight to Hyderabad.”
A passenger named Manisha Gupta previously detailed the incident on LinkedIn. She said that on Saturday, at the Ranchi airport, an adolescent with special needs, was in great discomfort. “The exhaustion of the drive to the airport and then the stress of security check has sent him into the throes of hunger, thirst, anxiety and confusion. His parents obviously knew how to handle his meltdown – with patience, cajoling, stern-ness, many hugs,” she mentioned.
By the time the boarding began, the child had been fed and given his medicines, she said. He seemed ready except for some big displays of general teenage assertiveness, she noted. “Then we witnessed the full display of brute authority and power. The IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) staff declared that the child would not be allowed to take the flight because he was a risk to other passengers,” she said.
IndiGo intended to board the family but the teenager was visibly panicked, Dutt said. “While providing courteous and compassionate service to our customers is of paramount importance to us, the airport staff, in line with the safety guidelines, were forced to make a difficult decision as to whether this commotion would carry forward aboard the aircraft,” he said.
The boy was in a “state of panic” and calmed down around 15 minutes after boarding on the aircraft was completed, Ranchi airport officials said. “Duty officials at Ranchi airport and airline staff thought the passenger should be sent on the next immediate flight,” an official said, asking not to be named. “However, the next flight was available on Sunday morning.”
The family was provided accommodation, the official added.
The airline offered to buy the teenager an electric wheelchair as a “token of our appreciation”.
With inputs from PTI
