The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) levied a Rs 30 lakh financial penalty on Air India on Thursday for failing to provide a wheelchair to an 80-year-old customer who fell and died while going from the plane to the airport terminal in Mumbai.
On Monday, an 80-year-old man who had landed in Mumbai on an Air India aircraft from New York with his wife died after falling at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Due to a wheelchair shortage, the octogenarian fainted after walking approximately 1.5 kilometers from the plane to the immigration line.
The pair reserved wheelchairs, but only the wife received one, according to TOI.
The man was going with his wife, and as they approached the immigration counter, he collapsed due to a heart attack.
Air India spokesperson said, “One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse. As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away.”
