The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday, May 28, said it has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on IndiGo airlines for denying boarding to a child with disabilities at Ranchi airport on May 7. IndiGo had said that the boy was denied permission to board the Ranchi-Hyderabad flight as he was “visibly in a panic”. As the boy was prohibited from boarding, his parents who were accompanying him also decided not to enter the plane.
The DGCA had on May 9 formed a three-member team to investigate the incident, which faced widespread backlash after it came to light. "It has been observed that the handling of the special child by the Indigo ground staff was deficient and ended up exacerbating the situation," said a statement by the DGCA. A more compassionate handling would have smoothened nerves, calmed the child and obviated the need for denying him from boarding, it mentioned.
“Special situations deserve extraordinary responses but the airline's staff failed to rise up to the occasion, and in the process, committed lapses in adherence to the letter and spirit of the Civil Aviation Requirements (regulations),” it noted. In view of this, the DGCA said that it has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on IndiGo, under the provisions of the relevant Aircraft Rules.
The DGCA also said that it will review its own regulations in the future, and also urged airlines to revise their standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training processes when it comes to cases such as these, and to “bring a more humane touch”.
An account of the incident on May 7, shared by a co-passenger Manisha Gupta on Facebook, had gone viral. She said that the child was initially in distress, and the parents knew how to calm him down and did. However, here, she added that the staff of the airline refused to let them board if the “child did not quieten down and become 'normal'.” As per her post, IndiGo airlines said that behaviour such as them deems them unfit to travel. Other passengers, as per the post, opposed the decision and a delegation of doctors who were also travelling on the flight offered their support to the family if any health episode were to occur.
Later, the DGCA formed a three-member panel to probe the incident.
IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta expressed regret over the incident that happened at the Ranchi airport. Dutta also offered to buy an electric wheelchair for the boy as a "small token of our appreciation" for the lifelong dedication of his parents to taking care of a person with a disability.
“While providing courteous and compassionate service to our customers is of paramount importance to us, 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,” he stated. “We recognise too well that parents who dedicate their lives to the caring of physically challenged persons are the true heroes of our society,” he said.
“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,” he added. “All of us at IndiGo are truly distressed by this particular incident,” Dutta mentioned.
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