Aviation regulator DGCA instituted a probe to look into IndiGo denying boarding to an anxious 13-year-old boy in a wheelchair at Ranchi airport two days ago after civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted about “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,” he said of airline staff treating the teenager as a threat to fellow passengers and barring him from a flight to Hyderabad with his parents. The boy was “in a state of panic” and hadn’t calmed down enough to be allowed on the flight, IndiGo claimed.
The boy’s father, Nirmal Kumar, wrote to Scindia, demanding action against the airline and the staff involved in the episode. He said three IndiGo executives sought to meet him at his house in Hyderabad to “settle” the matter, but he refused.
IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta issued a statement later, saying he stood by the airline staff’s decision at Ranchi airport on Saturday. He offered an electric wheelchair to the child as a “small token”.
IndiGo arranged to fly out the teenager and his parents to Hyderabad the next morning. A DGCA official said the regulator received a report from IndiGo, following which a three-member team was formed for an inquiry.
Taking a serious view of reports on the manner in which a specially-abled child was handled by IndiGo staff at Ranchi airport, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights wrote to Jharkhand Police asking them to lodge an FIR against the airline for barring the child from boarding a flight. The chief commissioner of persons with disabilities in the ministry of social justice and empowerment is also learnt to be preparing to issue a notice to take action in this case.
The airline's staff told the teenager's parents that he was a risk to other passengers. The incident sparked widespread outrage with many calling out the airline for discriminatory behaviour.
IndiGo has denied the allegations, saying it prides itself on being an inclusive organisation.
