NEW DELHI: Days after an 82-year-old woman was reportedly injured at the Delhi Airport due to Air India’s failure to provide a pre-booked wheelchair, another similar incident has surfaced – now involving IndiGo Airlines.
IndiGo is facing backlash over its alleged failure to assist an 83-year-old passenger, Susama Rath, upon her arrival at the Delhi Airport. Rath, who was travelling from Bhubaneswar on IndiGo’s 6E 5061 flight on March 5, was allegedly left to navigate the airport by foot despite having pre-requested wheelchair assistance.
Dr Bishnu Prasad Panigrahi, Group Head Medical Strategy & Operations at Fortis Healthcare and Rath’s son-in-law, took to social media to express his outrage. He accused the airlines of negligence and insensitivity, flagging ‘lack of concern for elderly passengers’.
In response, IndiGo claimed that wheelchairs must be pre-booked at least 48 hours before departure. The airlines claimed no such request was reflected in Rath’s booking but extended an apology for the inconvenience. “Dr Panigrahi, we’d like to extend our deepest gratitude for allowing us to address this on the call,” it posted on X.