Air India Denies Wheelchair Assistance to 82-Year-Old Woman, Resulting in Hospitalization
Air India Denies Wheelchair Assistance to 82-Year-Old Woman, Resulting in Hospitalization
In response to the granddaughter’s post, Air India expressed its concern regarding the incident and extended wishes for the woman’s swift recovery.
An 82-year-old woman is currently in the ICU, being monitored for possible brain hemorrhages after experiencing a fall at Delhi airport. This incident occurred after she reportedly did not receive a pre-booked wheelchair from Air India. After waiting for an hour without the wheelchair, the woman, who is the widow of a distinguished Lieutenant General, was compelled to walk a significant distance at the airport with assistance from a family member. She subsequently fell near an airline counter when her legs gave out.
The granddaughter of the woman claimed that first aid was not administered, and after a wheelchair eventually arrived, her grandmother boarded the aircraft with a bleeding lip and injuries to her head and nose. She reported that her grandmother has been in the ICU for two days and is experiencing a loss of strength on the left side of her body.
In a recent update on X, last modified at 2 am on Friday, Parul Kanwar, the granddaughter, shared that they had secured a booking on Air India flight AI2600 from Delhi to Bengaluru for Tuesday. Among the passengers is her 82-year-old grandmother, identified as Raj Pasricha, as indicated by a ticket provided by Kanwar. The ticket also includes a special request for a “wheelchair to aircraft door,” which has been confirmed.
Kanwar recounted that upon arriving at Terminal 3 (T3) of Indira Gandhi International Airport, Pasricha was not provided with a wheelchair. She mentioned that the family spent an hour attempting to secure one, reaching out to Air India’s personnel, the airport help desk, and staff from another airline, but ultimately, no wheelchair was made available.
In response to the granddaughter’s post, Air India expressed its concern regarding the incident and extended wishes for the woman’s swift recovery. The airline highlighted that it is currently “actively addressing the issue” and will provide updates as soon as possible.
“With no other option, this old lady slowly made her way across 3 parking lanes at T3 New Delhi, on foot with assistance from a family member. She managed to enter the airport on foot, still no wheelchair or assistance was provided. Ultimately, her legs gave way, and she fell – she fell in front of the Air India premium economy counter. Not one person stepped in to help. We requested someone to help get first aid – no help. Expectation from Air India staff was for the family member to go to the MI (medical inspection) room and get medical aid. Finally, the wheelchair arrived, and she was promptly boarded without a proper checkup with a bleeding lip and injury to her head and nose. On flight, crew did help with ice packs and called ahead to Bangalore airport for medical aid, where she was seen by a doctor and given 2 stitches (sic),” says the post.
https://twitter.com/parulkanwar/status/1897747832183947329
Kanwar mentioned that she was composing the post from an ICU, where her grandmother has been monitored for the past two days due to possible brain bleeds.
Additionally, Kanwar stated that the family has filed complaints with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air India and is currently awaiting a response.
“Dear Kanwar, we are concerned to note this and wish Pasricha a speedy recovery. We’d like to connect with you over a call in this regard and request you share your contact number and a convenient time via DM (direct message),” Air India handle issued a response.
Kanwar responded by stating that she preferred the airline not to contact her without conducting “due diligence and investigation,” to which the airline replied, “Dear Kanwar, we sincerely wish your grandmother a speedy recovery. We are actively working on the concern and assure you that we will share the complete details at the earliest.”
