A heart surgeon from Bengaluru, Dr Saurabh Rai, was forcibly offloaded from IndiGo flight 6E 541 at Lucknow Airport last Tuesday evening by the airline staff after he complained of mosquitoes inside the aircraft. After the news was reported, IndiGo has now come out with an explanation where they have pinned the blame on the passenger.
IndiGo in its statement said. " A passenger, Saurabh Rai, scheduled to fly from Lucknow to Bengaluru, was offloaded on grounds of unruly behaviour. He expressed concerns over mosquitoes on board. Before cabin crew could address his concerns he became aggressive & used threatening language. As matter escalated after closure of the aircraft doors, he attempted to instigate other passengers on board to damage the aircraft & used words such as ‘hijack’. Hence, keeping in mind applicable safety protocols crew apprised pilot-in-command, who decided to offload him".
Fellow passengers claimed that after Dr Rai boarded and took his seat, he complained to the crew about mosquitoes flying around. All that the staff did was to curtly ask him to take another flight to Bengaluru, they said. Eyewitnesses said neither the staff nor the security men arranged any vehicle to drive Dr Rai back to the airport lounge; he walked all the way back.
Last November, IndiGo had to apologise to a passenger, Ms Urvashi Parikh Viren, after she fell off her wheelchair while being assisted by its staff at Lucknow airport. The Airports Authority of India, which operates the Lucknow airport, had even rapped the airline’s staff who had pushed Viren’s wheelchair towards the arrival hall, “for gross negligence, as he chose the wrong path on the tarmac and mishandled the passenger.” Just days before that, a video of an October incident, in which a passenger is seen manhandled by its staff at Delhi airport, was widely shared on social media. The airline initially issued a four-page statement defending its staff, saying they were only acting in self-defence. IndiGo chief Aditya Ghosh later offered his "personal apologies", saying "this does not reflect our culture.”
With inputs from DNA Correspondent
