New Delhi: A woman passenger has claimed that she was threatened by an IndiGo pilot with jail after she asked for a wheelchair for her mother in the plane at the Bangalore airport. However, a little later Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the airline has ‘off-rostered’ the pilot.
Supriya Unni Nair, who had asked for a wheelchair for her 75-year-old mother, after landing Monday night in Bangalore, alleged in multiple tweets that the pilot had misbehaved and threatened her with jail.
Puri said on Twitter, “I requested my office to contact IndiGo as soon as I saw the tweet by Ms Supriya Unni Nair about the pilot’s behaviour with her & her 75 year old mother in need of wheelchair assistance. The airline has informed Ministry of Civil Aviation that the pilot has been off-rostered pending full enquiry.”
Reacting to the matter, IndiGo said Tuesday that the issue is under internal review and necessary action will be taken.
Narrating the incident, Nair said when the Chennai-Bangalore flight landed at the airport at 9.15pm Monday, she asked the flight crew to provide a wheelchair for her mother, as it was requested at the time of booking the ticket.
The cabin crew, according to Nair, said that they do not have access to the wheelchair.
Nair said she showed the ticket where it was printed that she has availed wheelchair services and at that moment, one of the pilots named ‘Jayakrishna’ starting yelling at her and her mother for annoying him and the plane’s crew.
Nair also claimed that when the wheelchair was then brought to take her mother, ‘Jayakrishna’ prevented the 75-year-old to be deplaned. She stated that the pilot then threatened to get them detained and make them spend a night in jail.
“I’ll get my CEO to make sure you spend a night in jail, ‘we’ will teach you some manners,” the pilot said, according to Nair.
When Nair said that the pilot cannot issue such threats, ‘Jayakrishna’ reportedly said, “Yes, I will threaten you. I am a captain. You can’t touch us. I will make sure you are barred from the skies,” the pilot is alleged to have said.
According to a source privy to the development, the pilot’s name is ‘Jayakrishnan’ and the airline is investigating the matter.
When asked about specific queries regarding the alleged misbehaviour of ‘Jayakrishnan’ IndiGo said: “We are aware of the complaint raised by a passenger on flight 6E 806 flying from Chennai to Bangalore last night. The matter is under internal review and necessary action will be taken.”
Agencies
