The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday imposed a financial penalty of Rs 30 lakhs on Air India after an incident of non-availability of a wheelchair to an 80-year-old passenger who collapsed and died after walking from the aircraft to the airport terminal at Mumbai.
An 80-year-old man, who had arrived on an Air India flight from New York with his wife, died after collapsing at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday.
The octogenarian collapsed after he had to walk around 1.5 km from the plane to the immigration counter due to a shortage of wheelchairs.
The couple had pre-booked wheelchairs but only the wife received one, reported TOI.
The man was walking alongside his wife and as they reached the immigration counter, he collapsed due to a heart attack.
Air India spokesperson said, “One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse. As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away.”
