Disabled man alleges mistreatment by airline, Air India responds

As per reports, an Air India pilot denied boarding to a disabled passenger on a flight from Bengaluru to Kolkata. The pilot of Bengaluru-Kolkata flight AI-748, which was scheduled to leave for Kolkata at 2.40 AM, stopped Kaushik Kumar Majumdar from boarding who works at the Indian Statistical Institute. Mr. Majumdar alleges that he was humiliated and denied boarding after the pilot asked him to disconnect the batteries of his electric wheelchair while he explained why that was impossible. 

"I was stopped by the pilot of Air India from boarding. They asked me to disconnect the battery of my wheelchair and only then board the flight, and after putting me through the ordeal for over an hour I was finally not allowed to take the flight," he said. Prof. Majumdar, of the Indian Statistical Institute in Bengaluru, has flown in Air India at least 25 times since 2009, and this time, he missed his doctor's appointment and a crucial meeting due to the "inhumane" behaviour of the pilot, he said.

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In response to the passenger's question why he chose only Air India and not any other airline, he replied, "I was obliged to do that before Air India was privatised. Otherwise, my office wouldn't reimburse. Now, we are free to take any airline. The reason why I take Air India is that they have an Ambu Lift free of cost. On other flights, they charge for the Ambu lift."

Earlier in December 2017, Mr Majumdar claimed that he was abused by Air India ground staff and denied boarding of his flight to Kolkata. Today marks the second time that Mr Majumdar has been prohibited from boarding an Air India flight.  

Later, Air India issued a clarification stating, "The passenger was boarded first as per the protocol of boarding passengers on wheelchair first." The airline further added that "When he was asked to dismantle the batteries of his wheelchair conforming to DGR regulations regarding carriage of restricted items, he could not remove the same and insisted on having the wheelchair with the batteries with him in the cabin or in cargo, flouting all laiddown rules clearly documented in our website and explained to him repeatedly."

Air India says that the Engineering and Operations team extended support to accommodate the wheelchair by dismantling the batteries, "however, the passenger refused to travel without it. As there was no other alternative, the passenger had to be disembarked to adhere to safety requirements."

"Mr Majumdar's has also spoken about mistreatment by the Pilot concerned. It is informed that the Pilot- in-Command has not met or spoken to Mr Majumder at all. When informed about the issues regarding the wheelchair by the ground staff, he had advised the staff to follow the laid down rules," Air India further added.

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