IndiGo Airlines is facing backlash on social media for not allowing a teenager with disability to board a flight at the Ranchi airport on May 7.
A Facebook user named Manisha Gupta put out a detailed post about the incident, which sparked furore online.
Gupta, who also had to board the Ranchi to Hyderabad, said that the boy was already distressed when he came to the airport.
“He had had a very uncomfortable car ride to the airport,” Gupta wrote in her post. “By the time he had gone through security check and reached the gate (almost an hour ahead of boarding), he seemed to be in the throes of hunger, thirst, anxiety and confusion.”
His parents were trying to soothe him and other passengers were also offering to help. At that moment, an IndiGo staff member walked up to the family and told them he would not let them board the plane until the teen became "normal", Gupta said.
Gupta added the teenager had calmed down with his parents' help and was ready to get on the plane, but the staff member declared him a risk to other passengers and refused to let him and his family get on board.
She also shared a video of passengers arguing with the IndiGo employee to let the child board the plane.
Among the passengers ready to board were some doctors, who assured that staff member that they would help if the boy were to face any trouble during the journey.
His mother’s plea was the most gut-wrenching, Gupta said. "Do you know what it means to be a parent to a special child?” she quoted the woman as saying. “The mother had asked the airline manager in a very fraught moment. "Do you think as a mother, I would ever let my child harm himself or anyone?"
None of the requests worked and the family were left behind as the plane took off.
Social media users expressed shock at the airline staff’s display of apathy.
“A shocking, unlawful incident of discrimination by @IndiGo6E at Ranchi airport,” author Natasha Badhwar said, while sharing Gupta's account on Twitter.
Writer Aditya Mani Jha, who was the airport when the incident took place, said, "@IndiGo6E should be penalized for this by the Government, and a discrimination-lawsuit should be filed immediately."
Here are some more reactions to the incident:
IndiGo, in its statement about the incident, said the child could not board the plane because he was "in a state of panic"
“The ground staff waited for him to calm down till the last minute, but to no avail," the airline was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. "The airline made the family comfortable by providing them hotel stay and the family flew the next morning to their destination."
They added: "We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers. IndiGo prides itself on being an inclusive organisation, be it for employees or its customers; and over 75,000 specially-abled passengers fly with IndiGo every month."
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said he was looking into the incident and will take action against the IndiGo staff member.
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