The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to Air India following the death of an elderly passenger who walked about a kilometer and a half due to the shortage of wheelchairs at Mumbai airport. Babu Patel, 80, who had returned from New York, requested a wheelchair from the airline staff after getting off the plane. However, due to the shortage of wheelchairs at that moment, he was asked to wait for some time. The passenger, however, decided to take a walk unaided beside his wife, 76-year-old Narmadaben Patel.
Patel collapsed near the office of the airport health officer after walking a short distance during the immigration process, as reported by Hindustan Times.
“In an unfortunate incident, one of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on February 12 fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was on a wheelchair,” the airline said in a statement.
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Following advice from the airport doctor who attended to him after falling ill, the airline reported that the passenger was promptly transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An official from Mumbai airport operator MIAL said that wheelchair assistance is exclusively a service provided by the airline.
The DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to Air India, citing non-compliance with provisions of civil aviation requirements and violation of Aircraft Rules, 1937. As per Para 4.1.7 of the CAR, airlines are required to offer comprehensive assistance to passengers, ensuring a smooth travel experience from the departure terminal to the aircraft and vice versa upon arrival.
Air India has been granted a seven-day period to reply to the notice and provide an explanation for its non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
Additionally, the DGCA has issued a more comprehensive advisory to all airlines, encouraging them to guarantee a sufficient number of wheelchairs for assisting passengers during both embarkation and disembarkation processes. This measure aims to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
