Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India over an incident in which an 80-year-old passenger collapsed and later died after walking from plane to terminal at the Mumbai airport after not getting a wheelchair.
On February 12, an 80-year-old Air India passenger died at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Friday while walking from the aircraft to the terminal as, as per the airline, he chose to not wait for a wheelchair.
The passenger, who flew from New York, sought assistance but was asked to wait due to heavy demand of wheelchairs.
Issuing an official statement, the airline said that the passenger's wife had been provided a wheelchair and staff had asked him to wait while they arranged another one. But he instead chose to walk to the terminal with his wife.
"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," Air India said.
A senior official at the DGCA on Thursday said a penalty of Rs 30 lakh has been imposed on Air India as it failed to provide any wheelchair to the elderly passenger.
"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," the official said.
Earlier this month, DGCA issued a show cause notice to the carrier, which submitted its response to the watchdog on February 20.
"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," the official said.
