BHUBANESWAR: In a shocking instance of insensitivity, a wheelchair-bound law teacher of National Law University Odisha (NLUO), was allegedly not allowed boarding by the Indigo staff and made to wait for hours at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here Thursday.
An assistant professor of law, the passenger who did not want to be named, had checked in and been given the wheelchair tag. However, she was kept waiting without being allowed to board her Indigo flight (6E-6584) to Guwahati with a hop at Kolkata.
Recalling her harrowing experience, the passenger told The New Indian Express she had completed web check-in and arrived at the airport at about 12.45 pm. She had gone through security clearance but was kept waiting for the bus to the aircraft. The departure time of her flight was 2.20 pm.
“I noticed the flight was about to take off at about 2.10 pm but till then the airline officials did not inform me of anything. Even after I missed my flight, they could not give me a satisfactory explanation for not allowing me to board,” she said.
The passenger suspected the flight was possibly overbooked but was not given any clarity on the matter till the last moment. She was supposed to board the connecting flight from Kolkata to Guwahati at about 7.30 pm and reach her destination an hour later.
However, after she escalated the matter, the Indigo staff offered transit accommodation in Bhubaneswar till her next flight from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata at about 9.50 pm. The assistant professor who is visiting her hometown for Durga Puja will now be able to reach her destination on Friday morning.
“I am educated and know how to fight for my rights. I owe an apology from the airlines for the harassment meted out to me. However, I am apprehensive many other passengers may be subjected to similar torture without being informed about any valid reason,” she said.
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) took to X, formerly Twitter, and said IndiGo denied a wheelchair-bound passenger to board a flight because of her disability and no reason was provided to her by the airlines or airport officials.
“She was not even informed about the situation until the flight had flown. Such behaviour and discrimination against differently-abled people is not acceptable and punishable under Section 92 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act,” said NCPEDP.
However, IndiGo in a statement claimed a differently-abled passenger travelling from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata reported late to the check-in counter. “Our airport staff made an attempt to accommodate her request to board the flight, however, due to a miscommunication, we were unable to board her,” said the airlines.
IndiGo said the passenger was provided with refreshments, complimentary hotel and alternative flight tickets for the same day to her destination and apologised for the inconvenience caused to her.