Indian para-athlete Suvarna Raj accused the IndiGo airline crew of mistreatment saying that they did not let her use her personal wheelchair despite several requests. She also received her personal wheelchair in a damaged condition after the flight. She said that on her New Delhi to Chennai flight, she asked for her personal wheelchair at the aircraft door but was given only the cabin wheelchair instead. Speaking to Asian News International, Raj alleged that she requested the crew time and again but her requests were denied.
The internationally acclaimed athlete said, "The airlines have been courting infamy with such incidents time and time again. Whenever I board a flight, I make it a point to request the crew members for my personal wheelchair at the aircraft door. I did it a thousand times before. However, on numerous occasions, I did not get a wheelchair at the aircraft door except the one in the cabin."
Suvarna Raj Accuses Airline Of Mistreatment
Suvarna Raj was not only denied her wheelchair but her personal wheelchair was also allegedly damaged when she received it again. "My wheelchair was damaged. It cost me Rs 3 lakh. Indigo should pay for the damage and I want it to be restored to its old state. If the airlines have a policy to provide wheelchairs to differently-abled patients, why do they break protocol time and time again? The government should take strict action and check why such incidents are happening so often," she said.
Raj also recalled the recent incident of a woman being asked to get up thrice from her wheelchair at the Kolkata airport. "The day before yesterday, a security staffer asked my friend, who also happens to be wheelchair-bound, to rise from the chair for a check. She was asked to stand not just once but thrice. My friend said she couldn't but the crew member kept asking her to stand up saying, 'You can stand up.' Where has the sensitivity of people gone?" Raj said.
Suvarna Raj expressed anger over the mistreatment of people with disabilities. "We are gunning for smart cities when what we need are smart and sensitive minds. I wished to come out in the media against this mistreatment. Please be a little more sympathetic to the problems of specially-abled people," she urged.
IndiGo Airlines released a statement that said, "We are in touch with Suvarna Raj and conducting a thorough investigation into the matter. We remain dedicated to upholding the highest standards of customer experience and apologise for the inconvenience caused."
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