New Delhi: The country’s aviation regulatory body has said that a private airline “inappropriately” handled passengers when it stopped a special needs boy from boarding a flight last Sunday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said its inquiry into the incident at the Ranchi airport “prima facie finds inappropriate handling of passengers” by the IndiGo staff.
The DGCA also said the airline’s action had resulted in “certain non-conformances with applicable regulations”. It has issued a show-cause notice to the airline.
On 7 May, IndiGo stopped a specially-abled boy from boarding a flight at the Ranchi airport. The airlines later issued a statement saying: “In view of the safety of passengers, a specially-abled child could not board the flight with his family as he was in a state of panic. The ground staff waited for him to calm down till the last minute but to no avail.”
The next day, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said he would personally look into what had happened. Scindia tweeted: “There is zero tolerance towards such behaviour. No human being should have to go through this! Investigating the matter by myself, post which appropriate action will be taken.”
The DGCA formed a three-member fact-finding team on 9 May to shed light on the issue. The aviation body also sent teams to Ranchi and Hyderabad – where the adolescent boy and his family stay — to talk to all concerned.
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