BENGALURU: Holding both IndiGo Airlines and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) responsible for the death of a passenger for allegedly refusing to provide a wheelchair and also barring him from check-out for treatment after he complained of feeling tired during the check-in process, the Consumer Commission directed them to pay Rs 12 lakh to the family members along with Rs 10,000 litigation cost.
The commission partly allowed the complaint filed by the deceased Chandra Shetty K’s wife Sumathi Shetty and daughter Deekshitha Shetty C. “Nobody can compensate for the loss of a life with money. But the compensation can be of little help for the family members. Therefore, Rs 12 lakh is fair and just,” said the commission comprising president M Shobha and member K Anita Shivakumar.
The complainants said that they had requested and screamed for help but neither the airline nor BIAL extended any support, which led to the loss of a golden hour.
Instead of showing concern, the BIAL had raised an objection that the complainants were not consumers, the commission said, adding this indicates an inhumane attitude towards its consumers.
Chandra Shetty, 60, along with his wife and daughter were planning to travel to Mangaluru on an IndiGo flight on November 19, 2021, at 2.45 pm. Both the airlines and the BIAL completed the check-in procedure, during which Shetty began feeling tired.
When his wife and daughter requested for a wheelchair to take him to a hospital, they were asked to wait. For one-and-a-half-hour, they were not given anything. Taken to the emergency care at the airport, the complainants were asked to shift him to a hospital on the airport premises where he was declared brought dead at 4.45 pm.
IndiGo did not file its response before the commission. Denying the allegations, BIAL said the complainants had not requested a wheelchair. When Shetty was not responding to treatment, a buggy was brought in and medical attention was given, the BIAL said.