An elderly woman had a panic attack inside Delhi airport after Air India refused to let her board her flight, her nephew has alleged in a video going viral on Instagram.
Vipul Bhimani said he, his aunt and his cousin had to catch a flight to Vadodara from Delhi International Airport terminal 3, but a few minutes of delay led to Air India denying them entry to the aircraft. This happened despite the fact that their flight was not scheduled to take off for another 30 minutes, he has alleged.
Bhimani further accused Air India staff of callous behaviour, saying they called for security instead of medical help after his aunt fainted at the airport.
Air India has denied that no medical help was called for the woman. A "doctor and a CISF personnel were called immediately" the airline said in a statement.
Bhimani shared a video which shows his aunt lying on the floor, with Air India staff at the gate looking on.
“We were 3 people at the airport and there were some technical issues going on at the security check-in point,” he wrote on Instagram, adding that he communicated the problem to Air India and requested the airline to assist them with check-in as they were travelling with a passenger who had a history of heart problems and there were “technical issues” going on at the security check-in.
He alleges that Air India refused to assist his group with check in, but they managed to check in successfully after all. “We called Air-India staff again to inform them that we have cleared check-in and are moving towards gate 32B but we will be late by 5 min due to having an old lady with us and she can’t run,” wrote Bhimani.
However, when they reached the boarding gate, Air India staff refused to let them get on the flight. “They literally closed gates for us and other passengers like us even if we intimated (plane was yet to fly after 30min),” said Bhimani.
He added that his cousin missed a viva because he was not able to get on the flight, while his aunt had a panic attack. “My aunt got anxiety which turned into a panic attack, and she fainted there on the spot,” he wrote. “We asked for a medical emergency but instead of that a staff called security and asked them to leave us at the exit gate.”
The video has racked up over 2 million views on Instagram since being shared last Thursday.
In the comments section, some people shared similar stories of unpleasant experiences. “I had the exact same issue with Air India. I reached the airport on time and the delay was completely on their end due to their check in queues and unorganized systems,” wrote an Instagram user. “I had 30 minutes left for the flight but they denied entry.”
Others criticised the airline staff for not helping an elderly passenger lying on the floor.
“Shame on such staff,” wrote one person. “This is really insensitive and bad behaviour,” said another.
A few Instagram users also sided with Air India, saying that Bhimani and his co-travellers should abide by airport rules.
In a statement released on Twitter, Air India said the video provided a "misleading image" of its staff being apathetic.
#FlyAI : Air India statement on Delhi Airport Video . pic.twitter.com/mHgUkWk13p— Air India (@airindiain) May 11, 2022
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.
Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.
