A ground reality

A video surfaced on Tuesday night on social media were an Indigo airline staff was seen assaulting a  passenger at the Delhi airport.

The video showed the passenger being stopped from entering a coach, being pulled back by a ground staff and another employee restraining the traveller. The passenger too fought back and fell on the ground. Though the incident happened on October 15, this video has been garnering attention by others who have travelled on budgeted airlines.  

For a frequent traveller like  G Nivedith,  this news is not surprising. Narrating an incident that happened to him, the travel  blogger says, "This happened over a year ago when the rule to ban battery banks were just rolling out. I was heading to Varanasi and my flight was about to take off in a few minutes. The airlines announced my name on the speaker and said that my bags have not been checked-in because of my battery banks."  

"They had not mentioned anything about it when my bags were initially scanned. Long story short, I had to deboard, miss my flight and had to book another one. The staff  was rude and said that it's not their problem as I should have paid attention."

Changing the flight time, delaying the travel and cancellation of flights is something that many budget flights do. What should have been a short trip to Goa for Zany Madhu, a photographer, went on to become a nine-hour flight due to the cancellation of the earlier flight.

The photographer explains, "I was supposed to be on a direct flight from Delhi to Goa which got cancelled and I was stuck at Surat airport as a layover. I saw there were seats available for a direct flight but the staff was rude and behaved like they were doing us a favour. When I told my friends about this, they reacted like it was expected as this happens often."

Amitava B's experience was a traumatic one. The communication professional was flying to meet his father who was in the ICU. He says, "I was waiting in the queue for check-in and asked the staff to let me go ahead. He asked me to wait till my turn. When I reached the counter, they said that the boarding was closed. I had to reach home as my father was in the ICU. The staff argued for 45 minutes. My father's doctor also spoke to them explaining the situation. However, they didn't bother to help and told me to leave the airport. Unfortunately, my dad passed away."

Bushra Shariff, a producer at 'Brave New World', says, "The incident with the staff manhandling the passenger is really unfortunate. Nobody's personal space must be violated. This said and done, I've personally never had a bad experience with airlines. The individuals who work on the ground and above should maintain discipline at work especially during odd hours and to meet the onslaught of demands from employers and passengers alike. I don't think an employee's action should represent an airline that has otherwise always over-delivered on their promises."