A 79-year-old cancer patient was allegedly denied a wheelchair at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Thursday, after he arrived from Kathmandu for his treatment, along with his 75-year-old wife. The septuagenarian couple had to wait for more than an hour and a half, before they chose to walk out of the airport.
Narrating the incident to DNA, Ravi Kedia, son-in-law of the cancer patient, Deoki Nandan Surekha, said that the couple landed at Delhi airport by an Air India flight AI 216, on Thursday. After this, Deoki’s wife Chanda Surekha, requested the airline staff for assistance, mentioning that her husband would need a wheelchair.
“The airline staff then informed the couple that they would get assistance from the airline’s ground staff, once they got down from the aircraft. However, when my in-laws got down they were denied a wheelchair.”
“A man on ground duty said that the airline was not informed prior to their landing, as a result of which they could not make arrangements. My father-in-law showed them the ticket on which it was mentioned that they are both senior citizens and that a wheelchair would be required,” said Kedia, an Indian citizen living in Kathmandu.
He added that Deoki is a cancer patient and had undergone a major surgery few weeks back. “Even if they were not informed, they must prioritise according to the situation. An almost 80-year-old cancer patient cannot be made to walk at the airport, especially when he is here for treatment,” Kedia said.
He said that Deoki along with his wife waited for about two hours inside the terminal building but seeing that nothing was happening, they slowly walked out of the terminal and took a taxi for the hotel. Deoki was taken to a hospital in Rajendra Nagar the next day, Kedia added.
Despite DNA’s repeated attempts, airline officials could not be reached for any comment on the matter.
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