The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a large financial penalty of Rs 30 lakhs on Air India.
This penalty follows an event in which an 80-year-old passenger tragically collapsed and died as a result of the lack of a wheelchair on the flight from the airplane to the Mumbai airport terminal.
This incident occurred in February at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, when an 80-year-old man who had arrived on an Air India flight from New York with his wife died from a collapse.
Due to a lack of wheelchairs, the elderly passenger was forced to walk about 1.5 kilometers from the aircraft to the immigration counter, despite the fact that both passengers had pre-booked assistance.
Despite having reserved wheelchairs before to their trip, only the wife received one. Walking with his husband, the elderly guy experienced a heart attack and collapsed at the immigration counter.
In reaction to the event, an Air India spokeswoman explained that the airline had urged the passenger to wait for wheelchair assistance owing to heavy demand. However, the individual decided to walk with his wife. Following the abrupt sickness, airport medical officials rushed the traveler to the hospital, and he was declared dead.
The deceased, an Indian-origin US passport bearer, was flying in economy class on Air India aircraft AI-116 from New York to Mumbai. This heartbreaking occurrence highlights the difficulty that passengers with mobility issues confront, as well as the significance of establishing proper wheelchair accessibility in airports to avoid such unfortunate events.
