While airlines are particular about providing the best hospitality to passengers, there are some stories that send shivers down the spine. Another incident from Delhi airport involving Air India staff has come to light, wherein the employees' callous behaviour towards an elderly woman was caught on camera. The video has since gone viral with 2M+ views and the airlines is at the receiving end of endless criticism.
What happened?
According to a post shared on Instagram by user Vipul Bhimani, his aunt suffered a panic attack after allegedly being denied entry to board their flight to Vadodara. But what followed later came as a shock to many, who reacted sharply to the incident.
Vipul, along with his aunt and a cousin, was on his way to catch an Air India flight. But due to some technical issue, the trio got delayed at the security check-point. They somehow managed to clear security despite Air India staff's alleged refusal to offer any sort of help. Since there had been a delay, they called the airline staff to inform them they were moving towards the gate 32B and would be late by 5 minutes. They even said that they couldn't rush as a senior citizen was with them.
The post further claims that Vipul's cousin reached the gate within 2 minutes. Vipul and his aunt reached shortly after, but the airline staff at the gate allegedly closed the gate as soon as they arrived. In the post, Vipul claims that the flight was not scheduled to depart for another 30 minutes.
"My aunt got anxiety which turned into a panic attack, and she fainted there on the spot," reads the post. Vipul wrote and added that his cousin, who had his final year VIVA exam, missed it, leading to his mother feeling anxious, and she allegedly fainted on the floor in front of the gate.
"We asked for a medical emergency but instead of that a staff called security and asked them to leave us at the exit gate," reads the last line of Mr Bhimani's post. The user also shared the flight details: "Air India flight AI 823. PNR was J84KT"
International Business Times has reached out to Air India for a statement, but we haven't heard back as of this writing. The article will be duly updated.
In the video, the elderly woman can be seen lying on the floor, whereas the staff remained completely unaffected by the incident. The video has been viewed more than 2 million times, drawing severe backlash.
Many users shared similar experiences, whereas the masses called out the Air India staff for the lack of empathy.
"Shame on you your employees didn't even move to help her from their seats," said one user.
"If little humanity is there u must look into it.. tell your employees to have little humanity first," wrote another.
