The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a fine of Rs 30,00,000 on Air India after an 80-year-old passenger died at the Mumbai airport while walking to clear immigration.
On February 12, Babu Patel and his wife Narmadaben Patel arrived at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from New York on an Air India flight. The couple had opted for wheelchair assistance while booking the flight.
Due to an increased demand for wheelchairs, Air India staff had asked the couple to wait for assistance. Following this, Narmadaben Patel was provided with a wheelchair and Babu Patel decided to walk alongside her. He collapsed on the way and was rushed to a hospital, but was declared dead. On February 16, the DGCA issued a show cause notice to the airline. The aviation regular, in a statement, said that the airline had responded to its show cause notice on February 20. Air India said that Babu Patel had decided to walk with his wife instead of waiting for assistance, according to the DGCA.
The regulator said that the airline had failed to comply with Civil Aviation Requirements by not providing Babu Patel with a wheelchair.
“Further, Air India did not inform about any action taken by the airline against the erring employee (s) and the airline also failed to submit any corrective actions taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future,” it said. “Accordingly, a financial penalty of Rs 30,00,000 has been imposed on Air India as per Aircraft Rules, 1937 for violating the provisions of the aforementioned Civil Aviation Requirements.”
The DGCA also issued an advisory to all airlines “to ensure that an adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers who require assistance during embarking or disembarking from the aircraft during their journey”. After the regulator’s notice, an Air India spokesperson had said that the airline has a “clearly laid down policy to offer wheelchair assistance to every passenger who requisitions for it during reservations”.
