DGCA fines Air India: A fine of Rs 30 lakh has been imposed on Air India as it failed to provide a wheelchair to an elderly passenger. DGCA had issued a show cause notice to the airline company, on which Air India had submitted its reply to the regulator on February 20.
DGCA fines Air India: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for not providing a wheelchair to an 80-year-old passenger at Mumbai airport. Due to unavailability of a wheelchair, the passenger had to walk from the plane to the terminal and fell. This passenger later died. This incident happened on 12 February.
A senior DGCA official said on Thursday that a fine of Rs 30 lakh has been imposed on Air India as it had failed to provide a wheelchair to an elderly passenger. The official said, ‘Apart from this, Air India has also not informed about the action taken against the erring employees in this matter. The airline has also failed to provide information about corrective steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
Argumentation
Earlier this month, DGCA had issued a show cause notice to the airline company, on which Air India had submitted its reply to the regulator on February 20. The airline said that instead of waiting for another wheelchair, the elderly passenger had started walking with his wife sitting in another wheelchair.
The official said, ‘An advisory has also been issued to all airline companies in this regard. They have been told that adequate number of wheelchairs should be provided for passengers who require assistance while boarding or deboarding the aircraft.
