New Delhi, May 9 The Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has ordered a probe in a boarding row at the Ranchi Airport wherein the IndiGo Airlines debarred a child with special needs and his family citing inconvenience to the other passengers on Saturday.
The incident happened at the Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport and a video clip of the showdown went viral.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief has sought a report from IndiGo on the matter. “The DGCA is probing this incident and it will take appropriate action,” the officials aware of this development said.
Explaining the situation, the IndiGo airlines said that the child was in a ‘state of panic’ and they could not fly him and his parents until he calmed down. Reports also suggest that IndiGo’s ground staff implied that the child with special needs was ‘unfit to fly’ and made inappropriate comparisons to the child as similar to the drunk passengers unfit to travel.
“The airline made the family comfortable by providing them with a hotel stay, the family flew on Sunday morning to their destination. IndiGo prides itself on being an inclusive organisation, be it for employees or customers; and over 75K specially-abled passengers fly with IndiGo every month,” IndiGo said in a statement.
The incident took place on May 7 and this came into light after a video clip of the arguments between the family and airline staff went viral and later it came to the notice of the Civil Aviation Ministry.