IndiGo airline on Monday issued an apology and “sincere regrets” to the family of a teenager with special needs who was barred from boarding a plane along with his parents at the Ranchi airport on Saturday.
The airline said that it had reviewed the situation and “made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances.” The airline has also offered an electric wheelchair to the teenager.
The statement has been issued on behalf of Ronojoy Dutta, Whole Time Director and Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo. “We had a very unfortunate incident at Ranchi airport on May 07, 2022, when a specially-abled teenager and his parents could not board their scheduled flight to Hyderabad,” the statement reads.
It further said that all the staff at IndiGo are truly distressed by this particular incident.
“All of us at IndiGo are truly distressed by this particular incident. Since April 2022 we have carried over 75k specially-abled passengers aboard our airline and our crew and airport staff are trained to serve such passengers sensitively,” the statement further reads.
The airline said that 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.
“Throughout the check-in and boarding process, our intent of course was to carry the family, however, at the boarding area, the teenager was visibly in panic. 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. Having reviewed all aspects of this incident, we as an organization are of the view that we made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances,” it said.
Indigo further said that the airline would like to offer to purchase an electric wheelchair for their son.
Earlier in the day, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that he will investigate the alleged incident of IndiGo airlines which barred a minor with special needs from boarding a plane with his parents at Ranchi airport on Sunday.
Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted “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.”
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. https://t.co/GJkeQcQ9iW
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) May 9, 2022
The incident came to light after a video went viral in which the IndiGo crew can be seen barring a minor with special needs from boarding the flight.
The post read: “The Indigo staff announced that the child would not be allowed to take the flight. That he was a risk to other passengers. That he would have to become ‘normal’ before he could be travel-worthy,”.
The airline issued a clarification on the incident and said: “In view of the safety of passengers, a specially-abled child could not board the flight with his family on May 07 as he was in a state of panic. The ground staff waited for him to calm down till the last minute but to no avail.”
The statement further added: “The airline made the family comfortable by providing them with a hotel stay, the family flew this morning to their destination. IndiGo prides itself on being an inclusive organization, be it for employees or customers; and over 75k specially-abled passengers fly with IndiGo every month.”
(With agency inputs)