The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slapped a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India after an incident of non-availability of a wheelchair to an 80-year-old passenger who collapsed and died after walk from plane to terminal at Mumbai Airport.
After the incident on reported on February 16, the aviation watchdog had issued a show cause notice to Air India for not complying with the provisions of the “CAR SECTION 3, SERIES ‘M’, PART I on “Carriage by Air – Persons with Disability (Divyangjan) and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility” which is a violation of Aircraft Rules, 1937.
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Air India submitted its response on February 20, saying that the airline informed that the elderly passenger wished to walk along with his wife who was on a wheelchair too, rather than wait for another wheelchair.
“However, the airline failed to show compliance of the CAR as the airline did not provide any wheelchair to the elderly passenger. Further, Air India did not inform about any action taken by the airline against the erring employee(s) and the airline also failed to submit any corrective actions taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future,” DGCA said in a statement.
Accordingly, a financial penalty of Rs. 30 lakh has been imposed on Air India as per Aircraft Rules, 1937 for violating the provisions of the aforementioned CAR, it added.
An advisory has also been issued to all airlines to ensure that an adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers who require assistance during embarking or disembarking from the aircraft during their journey.
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