Air India Faces Scrutiny Over Wheelchair Incident Involving 82-Year-Old Passenger

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu informed the Rajya Sabha about an investigation into Air India's failure to provide a pre-booked wheelchair to an elderly passenger at Delhi airport. The DGCA is reviewing CCTV footage, and a show cause notice will be issued to Air India.

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu announced in the Rajya Sabha that the ministry is actively probing a complaint concerning Air India's inability to supply a pre-booked wheelchair to an 82-year-old passenger at Delhi airport.

Regulator DGCA is examining CCTV footage and has spoken with the passenger's family and the airline to understand the incident. A show cause notice is set to be issued to Air India. The incident, which allegedly led to the passenger's fall, happened on March 4, with the passenger eventually boarding a flight to Bengaluru.

The ministry is also investigating a separate issue of clogged toilets causing a Delhi-bound flight from Chicago to return after more than 10 hours airborne due to unserviceable lavatories. Air India cited technical issues, later traced to blockages caused by improper disposal of items in toilets.

(With inputs from agencies.)