Lisa Ray accuses Air India of denying medical waiver for her ailing father, airline responds stating actor's claims as 'unfounded'

Responding to Ray’s claims, Air India dismissed the allegations as “unfounded,” stating that the airline did not lack empathy in handling her request.

Actor-model Lisa Ray expressed her disappointment with Air India after the airline refused to waive charges when she had to alter her travel plans due to her 92-year-old father’s deteriorating health.

Responding to Ray’s claims, Air India dismissed the allegations as “unfounded,” stating that the airline did not lack empathy in handling her request. Ray, known for films like Kasoor, Water, and Bollywood/Hollywood, shared her frustration on X, tagging the airline in her post. However, details about her travel destination remain undisclosed.

She wrote in the post, "Here we go again @airindia My father is 92, unwell and I have to cancel travel due to his ailing condition. Submitted doctors letter and the waiver was denied? How is that possible? Where is the empathy from an airline that is claiming to care about passengers???" she wrote.

On Thursday, an Air India spokesperson issued a statement saying, "The claim that Air India did not display empathy for her unwell father is unfounded, as the passenger herself mentioned that she is booked to fly Air India along with two other co-passengers that does not include her father, whose medical documents she has submitted."

Air India clarified that Lisa Ray had initially booked her ticket through a travel agent and had approached them first, rather than contacting the airline directly. "After the passenger raised the matter to Air India, the Air India team reached out to her and, as an exception, offered solutions that included a free date change or a one-year period to utilise the tickets for future travel. She declined the offer and requested for a full refund of her ticket, instead," the spokesperson said.

"We urge the media to restrain itself from maligning the reputation of the airline without corroborating facts. Air India flies millions of passengers and such misleading news reports belie the airline’s resolve to customer centricity and empathy," they added.

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On Wednesday, the official X handle of Air India responded to Ray’s post, saying: "Dear Ms. Ray, we empathize with your concern and wish your father a speedy recovery. Please help us with the email address from which you’ve written to us or the case ID (if any) via DM. We’ll look into it."

Lisa Ray, 52, later posted a screenshot of an email from her travel agent, stating that no medical waiver was available. In response, Air India reached out, requesting her contact details and a suitable time to connect via direct message to address her concerns.