Deepa Malik, Aruna Award Winning Para-Athlete, never anticipated preferring Air India over other Airlines will turn into a nightmare.
Apparently, Deepa booked tickets for Air India flight to travel to Surat where she will be addressing a women's empowerment conclave. Inspite of reporting two hours prior to the scheduled take off, Air India failed to take care of her requirements. Neither the airlines allowed her customised wheelchair, nor provided a wheelchair which is in good condition. What she got was a wheelchair which don't have an arm & foot rest and lack of a belt to support the legs made things even worse. After she placed a request to replace the wheelchair, She was provided with one which had a problem with one of the wheels. The airline staff weren't trained properly to take her to the seat after boarding the plane.
After reaching Surat airport, No ramp was provided and she was brought down from plane in a horrifying manner. This repeated even when she boarded flight from Surat to Delhi as the staff refused to allow her wheelchair citing it would put a lot of pressure on the stairs. She also with a Senior Citizen had to wait for one hour in Delhi airport for the wheelchair to arrive. Sadly, The airlines arranged only one and Deepa allowed the Senior Citizen to go first. She filed a complaint with the airline soon after landing but she is yet to receive any sort of clarification till now.
An Air India Official, however, claimed no such incident has come to their notice when contacted by the media.
Apparently, Deepa booked tickets for Air India flight to travel to Surat where she will be addressing a women's empowerment conclave. Inspite of reporting two hours prior to the scheduled take off, Air India failed to take care of her requirements. Neither the airlines allowed her customised wheelchair, nor provided a wheelchair which is in good condition. What she got was a wheelchair which don't have an arm & foot rest and lack of a belt to support the legs made things even worse. After she placed a request to replace the wheelchair, She was provided with one which had a problem with one of the wheels. The airline staff weren't trained properly to take her to the seat after boarding the plane.
After reaching Surat airport, No ramp was provided and she was brought down from plane in a horrifying manner. This repeated even when she boarded flight from Surat to Delhi as the staff refused to allow her wheelchair citing it would put a lot of pressure on the stairs. She also with a Senior Citizen had to wait for one hour in Delhi airport for the wheelchair to arrive. Sadly, The airlines arranged only one and Deepa allowed the Senior Citizen to go first. She filed a complaint with the airline soon after landing but she is yet to receive any sort of clarification till now.
An Air India Official, however, claimed no such incident has come to their notice when contacted by the media.