The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken no notice of the recent death of an 80-year-old Air India passenger who collapsed on the plane Mumbai airport After opting to walk from the plane to the terminal building due to a lack of wheelchairs, he had to arrive at immigration. The NHRC issued a notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) seeking a report within four weeks.
On February 16, TOI published a report about the incident, following which the DGCA issued a show cause notice to Air India and sought a response within seven days. The Civil Aviation Authority has also directed all airlines to ensure adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers in need.
The said incident occurred on February 12th. The US citizen of Indian origin had flown with his wife on an Air India flight from New York to Mumbai. Both had booked the wheelchair space, but due to the lack of wheelchairs, only one was brought for the couple. The senior was asked to wait for another wheelchair. However, he chose to walk next to his wife, who was in a wheelchair. He ran for about 1.5 km, then collapsed and died at the airport immigration counter.
“The Commission has found that the content of the media report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the victim,” the NHRC press release said. “Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation requesting a detailed report on the matter within four weeks. This should include the status of any compensation awarded to the deceased's next of kin. The Commission would also like to know what measures will be taken or proposed to ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” she added.
In issuing the notice, the Commission also noted that the number of passengers and fares have increased significantly, but the standard of facilities does not appear to have improved proportionately, which has led to several complaints being reported and published in the media on social media, NHRC said.
Meanwhile, the DGCA has been issued as per the norms of “Air Transport – Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility”. According to the said standards, airlines are obliged to provide assistance to people with disabilities, to take care of the special needs of people with reduced mobility and to ensure their smooth journey from the departure terminal of the departure airport to the aircraft and at the end of the journey from the airport to the exit of the aircraft Arrival terminals.
On February 16, TOI published a report about the incident, following which the DGCA issued a show cause notice to Air India and sought a response within seven days. The Civil Aviation Authority has also directed all airlines to ensure adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers in need.
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The said incident occurred on February 12th. The US citizen of Indian origin had flown with his wife on an Air India flight from New York to Mumbai. Both had booked the wheelchair space, but due to the lack of wheelchairs, only one was brought for the couple. The senior was asked to wait for another wheelchair. However, he chose to walk next to his wife, who was in a wheelchair. He ran for about 1.5 km, then collapsed and died at the airport immigration counter.
“The Commission has found that the content of the media report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the victim,” the NHRC press release said. “Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation requesting a detailed report on the matter within four weeks. This should include the status of any compensation awarded to the deceased's next of kin. The Commission would also like to know what measures will be taken or proposed to ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” she added.
In issuing the notice, the Commission also noted that the number of passengers and fares have increased significantly, but the standard of facilities does not appear to have improved proportionately, which has led to several complaints being reported and published in the media on social media, NHRC said.
Meanwhile, the DGCA has been issued as per the norms of “Air Transport – Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility”. According to the said standards, airlines are obliged to provide assistance to people with disabilities, to take care of the special needs of people with reduced mobility and to ensure their smooth journey from the departure terminal of the departure airport to the aircraft and at the end of the journey from the airport to the exit of the aircraft Arrival terminals.
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