Air India fined for Rs 30 lakh for non-availabilty of wheelchair that took life of an elderly man
New-Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday have imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakhs on Air India after an incident of non-availability of a wheelchair for an 80-year-old passenger who collapsed and died after walking from the aircraft to the airport terminal at Mumbai.
This news comes days after an elderly man died at the Mumbai airport after he was refused a wheelchair and was forced to walk.
On February 20, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sent a notice to the DGCA over the death of the Air India passenger who collapsed at the Mumbai airport as there was non-availability of wheelchair.
The Human rights body said in a statement, that the elderly couple was travelling from New York to India, adding it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that an 80-year-old man died at the Mumbai airport as he had to walk when not provided with a wheelchair despite prior request to the airline.
The DGCA had asked for a detail report in four weeks.
“There has been a significant increase in the number of air passengers as well as the airfare, but the standard of facilities doesn’t seem to have improved proportionately resulting in several complaints reported in the media and posted on social media,” the Commission observed.
According to reports, an 80-year-old man has been identified as a native of Mumbai with a US passport along with his wife was travelling from New-York to Mumbai and suddenly he fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. The man opted for a walk instead of waiting for the wheel-chair, died at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Ms Kalinga