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Singapore’s Scoot Airlines refused to fly an Indian-origin, Singapore resident couple and their five-year-old daughter with special needs to Phuket on June 14. The family was travelling to Phuket for a three-day vacation. The airlines cited ‘safety concerns’ as the reason behind the same.
Divya George, the mother, uploaded a video of the argument on Facebook with the airline crew. In the video, the child’s father is seen arguing with the crew. He was shocked by the reason of ‘safety concerns’ provided by them and demanded to speak with a senior.
Divya accused the airline of not allowing her to hold her child with special needs during take-off. In her Facebook post, she mentions that despite informing the airline about the condition of her daughter, the crew insisted ‘that she sit in her seat or the family must de-board the flight’.
The child suffers from a condition called muscle dystrophy. The report quotes Divya’s post where she says, “It turned out to be a 90-minute ordeal with the whole flight being held up and us being told that our baggage was going to be offloaded, and so would we.”
The couple had requested for an infant seat belt which was denied since the child had her own seat. The captain refused to come out of the cockpit for an hour and asked the crew to inform them that they could either leave their daughter on her own seat or de-board the plane. After an hour when the captain spoke to the couple he said that if the child slides off the seat then it is the airline’s lookout. The couple was shocked at the response.
The family has travelled multiple times since the birth of their daughter and have faced minor difficulties but usually, the crew ensured a safe journey. The couple was also threatened with arrest if they refused to de-board.
There is no comment from Scoot Airlines about the incident yet.
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