IndiGo Boarding Row: Made The Best Possible Decision Under Difficult Circumstances, Says CEO

The airlines then offered to buy the son an electric wheelchair, as a token of their appreciation to the family who experienced the unfortunate event.

New Delhi: After facing backlash for barring a specially-abled child from boarding a flight at the Ranchi airport with his family, budget carrier IndiGo on Monday expressed regret over the incident. In a statement, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said the staff "made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances".  

Dutta also offered to buy an electric wheelchair for the boy as a "small token of our appreciation" for the lifelong dedication of his parents in taking care of a disabled person.

"Having reviewed all aspects of this incident, we as an organisation are of the view that we made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances. Throughout the check-in and boarding process, our intent of course was to carry the family. However, at the boarding area the teenager was visibly in panic," Dutta said.

"While providing courteous and compassionate service to our customers is of paramount importance to us, the airport staff, in line with the safety guidelines, were forced to make a difficult decision as to whether this commotion would carry forward aboard the aircraft," the statement further said.

Dutta mentioned that IndiGo was truly distressed by this particular incident. "We recognise too well that parents who dedicate their lives to the caring of physically challenged persons are the true heroes of our society," he noted.

"We offer our sincere regrets to the affected family for the unfortunate experience and as a small token of our appreciation of their lifelong dedication would like to offer to purchase an electric wheelchair for their son," Dutta further said.

In the statement, Dutta said that since April 2022, IndiGo has carried over 75,000 specially abled passengers and "our crew and airport staff are trained to serve such passengers sensitively".

On Saturday, the child with special needs was barred from boarding IndiGo flight as the carrier’s staff said he was in a "state of panic" and could be a “risk to other passengers”. Manisha Gupta, the founder and director of a consultancy called Start Up India, narrated the whole incident in social media that was widely circulated.

She shared the plight of how the young passenger with special needs was not allowed to board the flight despite constant objections by fellow passengers "who held up their mobile phones with news articles, and Twitter posts on Supreme Court judgements on how no airline could discriminate against passengers with disabilities".

A delegation of doctors taking the same flight assured to provide full support in case of any health episode mid-air. However, it failed to cut ice with the IndiGo staff.

As the boy was prohibited from boarding the airline's Ranchi-Hyderabad flight on Saturday, his parents also decided to not enter the plane.

Following the incident, the aviation regulator, DGCA, stepped in and initiated a probe against the airline and asked to submit a report, said the officials on Sunday, reported new agency PTI.