Air India 'denied' wheelchair? Airline rejects charge after woman claims 82-year-old in ICU after falling

Complaints regarding the incident have reportedly been lodged with the DGCA and with Air India.

A X post by a woman has taken social media by storm after she lashed out at Air India for not providing her 82-year-old grandmother with a wheelchair at the Delhi Airport despite the service being booked earlier.

"I post this because I have no choice, and because it infuriates me that there is such little value for human life and wellbeing," the woman, Parul Kanwar, said in her social media post, adding, "@airindia, you treated my grandmother so poorly, and with such little regard. You should be ashamed."

The woman, Parul Kanwar, went on to say that for their travel from Delhi to Bengaluru, on March 4, the family had booked a wheelchair for the octogenarian, who also happens to be the widow of a decorated Army Lieutenant General.

However, on reaching the airport, the elderly lady was not allocated a wheelchair despite the family trying for one for 'almost an hour.'

She goes on the narrate that requests were made to the airport help desk and staff from Indigo airlines who refused to share a wheelchair they had.

"With no other option, this old lady slowly made her way across 3 parking lanes at T3 New Delhi, on foot with assistance from a family member. She managed to enter the airport on foot, still no wheelchair or assistance was provided," the post went on to narrate.

Air India ticket of the victim which shows 'Wheelchair to aircraft door request- Confirmed'.

Kanwar then reveals that her grandmother's legs gave way and she fell in front of the Air India premium economy counter, but still no one 'stepped in' to help. Even requests for first aid fell on deaf ears, as per the post.

"Expectation from Air India staff was for the family member to go to the MI room and get medical aid," Kanwar states.

At last, a wheelchair was found and the injured woman was boarded onto the aircraft without any medical check whatsoever, as per Kanwar.

"Finally, the wheelchair arrived, and she was promptly boarded without a proper checkup with a bleeding lip and injury to her head and nose. On flight crew did help with ice packs and called ahead to Bangalore airport for medical aid, where she was seen by a doctor and given 2 stitches," the post read.

Kanwar goes on to say that her grandmother has been admitted to a hospital and is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the moment.

"My mother and father watch as doctors pump her with medication, and her left side loses strength. From where we stand, it’s a long road ahead of pain and recovery which she did not deserve," she adds.

Complaints regarding the incident have been lodged with the DGCA and with Air India., Kanwar revealed. She also tagged the owners of Air India, Tata Group, Tata Trusts, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation in her post.

"Dear Ms. Kanwar, we sincerely wish your grandmother a speedy recovery. We are actively working on the concern and assure you that we will share the complete details at the earliest," Air India said in reply to her post.

Issuing a detailed statement after investigating the incident, Air India on Saturday (March 8) said the family members accompanying the passenger had reported at the PRM (Person with Reduced Mobility) desk located near Air India's ticketing office less than 90 minutes before the scheduled time of departure to request for a wheelchair.

"Due to the unprecedented peak demand at that hour, a wheelchair could not be made available within the 15 minutes that the passenger's relatives spent waiting for it," the airline said, adding that the claims of having waited for an hour for the wheelchair are baseless.

The granddaughter also mentioned in the post that complaints were lodged with the aviation regulator DGCA and Air India and awaiting action.

According to Air India, at no point was the wheelchair or any assistance denied to the passenger and the airline's staff cooperated with the guests throughout their journey.

"On their own accord, the passenger decided to walk along with those accompanying her. She unfortunately suffered a fall in the airport premises," the statement said.

The airline also mentioned that Delhi airport officials and the airport doctor on duty immediately attended to her and administered first aid.

Elaborating further, Air India noted that the airport doctor's offer for additional medical attention was not accepted, and the family members insisted on continuing their travel to Bengaluru.

While noting that as requested by the family members, its staff escorted the passenger for further medical attention at the Bengaluru airport premises, the airline also said it has reached out to the passenger's family.

(With PTI inputs)