Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a Rs 5 lakh fine on low-cost airline IndiGo, days after it was issued a show cause notice over the incident of a child with special needs being mistreated by the airline staff in Ranchi.The regulator said that a probe had found that “the handling of the special child by the Indigo ground staff at Ranchi airport on May 7 was deficient and ended up exacerbating the situation”. In view of this, the Competent Authority in DGCA has decided to impose a penalty of Rs 5 lakhs on the airline under the provisions of the relevant Aircraft Rules.
“A more compassionate handling would have smoothened the nerves, calmed the child and would have obviated the need for the extreme step resulting in denied boarding to the passengers,” the regulator added.
Stating that special situations deserve extraordinary responses, DGCA added that the Airline staff failed to rise up to the occasion and in the process committed lapses in adherence to the letter and spirit of the Civil Aviation Requirements (Regulations).
DGCA will revisit its regulations and bring about necessary changes in order to prevent such situations.
Show cause notice to IndiGo
Meanwhile, the aviation regulator on May 16 issued a show cause notice to low-cost airline IndiGo over the incident. The regulator said that an inquiry into the incident prima facie found inappropriate handling of passengers by the IndiGo staff thereby resulting in certain non-conformances with the applicable regulations.
DGCA added that the passengers were handled inappropriately by IndiGo staff at Ranchi airport.
What is the case about?
Earlier this month, an IndiGo manager allegedly misbehaved with a child with special needs child at Ranchi airport. The incident made news after Abhinandan Mishra, an eyewitness, who was present at the time of the incident, narrated it on social media.
According to his account, IndiGo airlines representative at Ranchi airport stopped the kid and his parents to board a flight for not displaying “normal” behaviour. The eyewitness detailed that the child had an uncomfortable car ride to the airport and was visibly stressed on arrival at the boarding gate. His parents, however, brought the situation under control with some food and love.
However, at the time of boarding, an IndiGo manager warned the family that the child would not be allowed to board the plane unless he acted ‘normally’. He reportedly announced that the specially-abled child is a flight risk and compared the condition (teenage assertiveness) to that of drunken passengers and deemed the child un-fit for travel.
The child is uncontrollable, he’s in a state of panic, the IndiGo manager kept shouting, Mishra’s post added. Moreover, some doctors, who were taking the same flight, assured them of support. But eventually, the IndiGo flight departed to Hyderabad, leaving the three behind.
How did IndiGo react?
After the incident went viral, the budget airline issued a statement saying the specially abled child could not have boarded the flight in ‘a state of panic’.
