The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) took action on Thursday, imposing a Rs 30 lakh financial penalty on Air India following an incident involving the unavailability of a wheelchair for an 80-year-old passenger. Tragically, the passenger collapsed and passed away after walking from the aircraft to the airport terminal at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
The elderly man, who had traveled on an Air India flight from New York accompanied by his wife, succumbed to a fatal collapse at Mumbai’s airport on Monday.
His collapse occurred as he was forced to traverse approximately 1.5 km from the aircraft to the immigration counter due to a shortage of wheelchairs.
Despite both passengers having pre-booked wheelchairs, only the wife received one, according to reports from TOI.
Tragically, the man suffered a heart attack and collapsed while walking alongside his wife towards the immigration counter.
An Air India spokesperson provided insight, stating, “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.”
