IndiGo discrimination row: We made the best possible decision, says CEO

Domestic carrier IndiGo's Whole Time Director and Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta has issued a statement a day after an eye-witness account of one of the airline's managers allegedly mistreating a specially-abled child at Ranchi Airport went viral on social media. 

Dutta stated that having reviewed the incident, IndiGo is of the view that it made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances

On May 7, an IndiGo manager did not allow a specially-abled child to board a flight at Ranchi Airport. According to the eye-witness account shared on Twitter, IndiGo allegedly announced that the specially-abled child was a flight risk. He even compared the child's condition, teenage assertiveness, to that of drunken passengers. He judged the child unfit for travel. Ultimately, the flight departed for Hyderabad, leaving behind the child and his parents.

"We had a very unfortunate incident at Ranchi airport on May 07, 2022, when a specially-abled teenager and his parents could not board their scheduled flight to Hyderabad," noted Dutta. 

"All of us at IndiGo are truly distressed by this particular incident. Since April 2022 we have carried over 75k specially-abled passengers aboard our airline and our crew and airport staff are trained to serve such passengers sensitively," he added. 

Dutta explained that throughout the check-in and boarding process the airline's intent, of course, was to carry the family, however, at the boarding area the teenager was visibly in panic.

The IndiGo CEO further explained that while providing courteous and compassionate service to customers is of paramount importance to the airline, the airport staff, in line with the safety guidelines, were forced to make a difficult decision as to whether this commotion would carry forward aboard the aircraft. 

"We recognise too well that parents who dedicate their lives to the caring of physically challenged persons are the true heroes of our society. We offer our sincere regrets to the affected family for the unfortunate experience and as a small token of our appreciation of their lifelong dedication would like to offer to purchase an electric wheelchair for their son," Dutta conveyed. 

What do the DGCA guidelines say? 

The DGCA guidelines state that passengers who are likely to be unruly must be carefully monitored, and if deemed to pose a threat to the safety and security of the flight, fellow passengers or staff, while onboard aircraft, should be refused embarkation or off-loaded.

"All airlines shall establish mechanism to detect and report unruly passenger behaviour at check-in, in the lounges, at the boarding gate or any other place in CIVIL AVIATION REQUIREMENTS SECTION 3 SERIES M PART VI 8TH SEPTEMBER 2017 3 the terminal building in order to prevent such passengers from boarding," read the DCGA guidelines. 

Also read: IndiGo manager mistreats specially-abled child at Ranchi airport, carrier issues statement

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