Aged Girl Falls After Wheelchair Delay, Air India Flags Late Arrival

New Delhi:

A day after an 82-year-old girl suffered a fall on the Delhi airport that landed her within the hospital, Air India has admitted there was a delay in offering a wheelchair, but it surely didn’t deny any help to her household. The airline additionally rubbished the declare that they needed to wait over an hour, and mentioned the household had arrived late for departure.

The assertion got here a day after the girl’s granddaughter Parul Kanwar accused the airline of negligence in an extended put up on X. The girl, whose identify as per her ticket is Raj Pasricha, is now within the ICU, below remark for potential mind bleeds.

Following an preliminary response yesterday, the airline shared an in depth assertion immediately with the findings of its investigation and wished a swift restoration to the injured girl. It mentioned the household had reported late for departure and that wheelchairs have been unavailable at that hour on account of peak demand.

The household had arrived on the departure terminal a lot later than the advisable two hours earlier than departure, mentioned Air India.

“Members of the family/kin accompanying the passenger had reported on the PRM (Particular person with Diminished Mobility) desk positioned close to Air India’s ticketing workplace lower than 90 minutes earlier than the scheduled time of departure to request for a wheelchair,” learn an announcement issued by the Air India spokesperson.

Air India mentioned they could not organize a wheelchair inside quarter-hour on account of an “unprecedented peak demand”, rubbishing Ms Kanwar’s declare of ready for an hour for the wheelchair as “baseless”.

The passenger selected their very own to stroll until the plane, however she fell within the airport premises, the airline mentioned, including that the airport physician on responsibility and different officers instantly attended to her and gave her first support. It mentioned the household refused the physician’s provide for added medical consideration and selected to proceed their journey to Bengaluru.

“By means of this course of, Air India employees have been courteous, escorted them from quick check-in by way of to precedence safety verify and boarding. The passenger was additionally supplied all doable care throughout the flight from Delhi to Bengaluru,” mentioned Air India.

On the Bengaluru airport, Air India employees escorted her for additional medical consideration and later until the drop-off level, the airline mentioned, asserting that at no level did their official deny wheelchair or some other help to the passenger.

The response follows an extended put up by Ms Kanwar during which she accused Air India of getting “little worth for human life and wellbeing.”