New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday slapped a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for not providing wheelchair to an 80 year-old passenger at Mumbai airport, which led to the death of the passenger.
A financial penalty of Rs 30 lakh has been imposed on Air India as per the Aircraft Rules, 1937 for violating the provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements, a statement issued by the DGCA said.
The DGCA has also issued an advisory to all the airlines asking them to keep adequate wheelchairs available for passengers at all airports across India.
On February 12, an 80-year-old passenger, who arrived on an Air India flight from New York with his wife, died following a heart attack after walking 1.5 km wheelchairs were not available at the Mumbai Airport.
Taking cognizance of the incident, the DGCA had issued a show cause notice to Air India for not complying with the provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
The Air India had reportedly submitted its response on February 20 informing the DGCA that the elderly passenger wished to walk along with his wife who was on a wheelchair, rather than wait for another wheelchair.
The DGCA said that Air India did not inform about any action taken by the airline against the erring employee(s).
“The airline also failed to submit any corrective actions taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future,” the DGCA said.
Senior Air India officials are tight-lipped, and also did not issue any official statement in response to the DGCA penalty.
