The Airports Authority of India squarely blamed the airline's gross negligence for the mishap
IndiGo is in trouble again and has apologised to a female passenger who fell off her wheelchair while being assisted by the airline's staff at Lucknow airport on Saturday night. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) squarely blamed the airline's gross negligence for the mishap.
This is a second case of embarrassment for the budget carrier which had to say sorry days before after a video went viral, showing a passenger being manhandled by its employees at Delhi airport in October.
"We apologise to Ms Urvashi Parikh Viren for the mishap which occurred at the Lucknow airport at 8 pm," the airline said in a statement on the latest case.
"Our IndiGo representative was pushing her wheelchair towards the arrival hall. As he was guiding her wheelchair through a vehicular lane, which was dimly lit at that time of the night, her wheelchair got stuck in a deep crack on the tarmac and lost balance and she fell off her wheelchair," it read.
"Parikh was injured and immediately rushed to the doctor of the Airports Authority of India. He administered first aid to her."
The state-owned AAI that operates Lucknow's airport, however, said in a statement that investigations showed the incident happened due to "gross negligence of IndiGo staff as he chose the wrong path on the tarmac and mishandled the passenger. The AAI said the whole area has sufficient illumination. A detailed investigation is in progress and CCTV footage is also being looked into, an AAI spokesperson said.
Earlier, a passenger was assaulted and dragged on the tarmac at Delhi airport by IndiGo's staff. A video of the incident surfaced and was widely shared.
The airline first issued a four-page defence and said its staff had followed the Standard Operating Procedure and acted in self-defence, but was attacked first by the passenger. IndiGo chief Aditya Ghosh later offered his "personal apologies", saying "this does not reflect our culture."
The Civil Aviation Minister later ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked the airline to explain.
Parikh and her family have not immediately lodged a complaint with the airline, the AAI or the Civil Aviation Ministry. The woman or her family has also not immediately issued any statement about the incident.
ONE AFTER ANOTHER...
This is a second such case of embarrassment for the budget carrier which had to say sorry days before after a video went viral, showing a passenger being manhandled by its employees at Delhi airport in October
(With agency inputs)
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