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Mumbai: In a distressing incident, An 80-year old senior citizen who flew in with his wife by Air India from New York — both were booked as wheelchair passengers — collapsed at the Mumbai airport immigration counter and passed away on Monday. When the flight landed, he had opted to walk all the way from the aircraft to the terminal building after Air India ground staff showed up with just one wheelchair.
The 80-year-old senior citizen flyer walked about 1.5 km to reach the immigration where he suddenly collapsed after suffering a heart attack. He was swiftly rushed to the Mumbai airport medical facility and later taken to Nanavati hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The Indian-origin couple were US citizens. They had boarded the Mumbai-bound Air India flight AI-116 that departed from New York on Sunday. According to an airport official, as man as 32 passengers of the flight had pre-booked the wheelchair facility but only 15 wheelchairs with accompanying staff were made available to the flyers.
Air India cited an unfortunate incident
An Air India spokesperson said that due to high demand for wheelchairs, the deceased passenger was requested to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he chose to walk along with his spouse. Terming it “an unfortunate incident”, the spokesperson said that the airline was in constant touch with the family members of the deceased, extending necessary assistance.
According to Air India’s website, if a passenger needs wheelchair, he or she is required to let the airline know at the time of reservation, ticketing, or reconfirmation of the booking. Travellers are requested to pre-book wheelchairs during booking or ticket issuance to avoid last-minute delays and the unavailability of wheelchairs.
Elderly and disabled passengers and those with medical conditions are charged a fee for wheelchair access. Medically disqualified passengers who require a wheelchair are required to complete and submit a Medical Information Form. Passengers can submit the form duly filled by their doctor to the nearest Air India office. After this, it takes at least 72 hours for the Air India medical officer to approve the request. In some offices, such as Canada, it takes five working days.
