Air India has gotten into trouble with the authorities after an 80-year-old passenger flying on from New York collapsed at Mumbai airport and later passed away at the hospital. As per the information available, the elderly passenger walked approximately 1.5 kilometers from the aircraft to the immigration counter. He had to do so because of a shortage of wheelchairs at the airport.
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However, he was asked to wait for the wheelchair as there was heavy demand at the time. As per reports, the deceased passenger was travelling with his wife and was of Indian origin. Both of them came to Mumbai from New York via flight AI-116. The elderly couple had pre-booked the wheelchair assistance.
However, because of the shortage, the wheelchair was only made available for the lady. Hence, the octogenarian chose to walk with his wife. However, upon reaching the immigration counter he collapsed after suffering a heart attack.
Air India issued a statement addressing the incident. The spokesperson said that the airline requested the 80-year-old to wait for the wheelchair because of a heavy demand at the time. However, he decided to walk with his spouse.
Air India said, “One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse.
As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away.”
Later, the Indian aviation watchdog, DGCA (Directorate General Of Civil Aviation) took cognizance of the incident and said, “A Show Cause Notice has been issued to Air India for not complying with the provisions and in violation of Aircraft Rules, 1937 and submit a reply to DGCA within 7 days of the issue of the notice.
Further, an advisory has also been issued 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.”