DGCA fines IndiGo Rs 5 lakh for not boarding special needs child

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday levied a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on IndiGo for the airline’s “deficient” handling of a special child at Ranchi Airport that had led to the child being denied boarding with his parents on May 7 this year.

DGCA to review rules
Additionally, the protocol to evaluate whether a specially abled person should be denied boarding — a job currently done by airline ground staffers who assess deemed flight risks — is being revamped.

The regulator will shortly come out with a draft of revised rules that may make it mandatory for airlines to consult airport doctor/s and commander of the flight in such cases.

The final rules in this regard will be issued after seeking comments from the public and taking them into consideration. “Airlines should also revisit their standard operating procedures and training processes for dealing with such cases, in order to bring a more humane touch,” said DGCA chief Arun Kumar.

In an order issued on Saturday, the DGCA stated that “... handling of the special child by IndiGo ground staff was deficient and ended up exacerbating the situation. A more compassionate handling would have smoothened the nerves, calmed the child and would have obviated the need for the extreme step resulting in denied boarding to the passengers."

On May 7, IndiGo had “inappropriately” denied boarding to the Hyderabad-bound specially-abled child, and thereby his accompanying parents also did not go. Some doctors travelling on Ranchi-Hyderabad of May 7 had also requested the airline to let the child, and thereby his parents, board the flight. They had assured to provide support in case the child suffered a health episode on the flight. However, “in line with safety guidelines” — as the airline was to later state — the child was denied boarding.

Following a public furore over this case, Union aviation minister J M Scindia ordered a probe into this case. The DGCA set up a probe panel which had faulted the airline’s handling of these situation in its report submitted on May 16. The regulator had then issued a showcase to the airline and given it 10 days to respond.

After taking the airline’s response into consideration, the DGCA issued the final order in this case on Saturday.

“Special situations deserve extraordinary responses but the airline staff failed to rise up to the occasion and in the process committed lapses in adherence to the letter and spirit of the Civil Aviation Requirements (rules). In view of this, DGCA has decided to impose a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on the airline under the provisions of the relevant Aircraft Rules,” the order said.

People probing the case also expressed unhappiness at IndiGo’s ‘insensitive’ initial response to the issue.

The airline had earlier this month issued a statement standing by its decision and offered an electric wheelchair for the child. “Since April 2022 we have carried over 75,000 specially abled passengers (on) our airline… However, at the boarding area the teenager was visibly in panic…. the airport staff, in line with the safety guidelines, were forced to make a difficult decision.… we made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances,” the statement had said.

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