Air India has been fined Rs 30 lakh after a 80-year-old passenger died at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport whereas strolling from the aircraft to the terminal as he was not supplied a wheelchair. The incident happened on February 16.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) took swift motion, issuing a show-cause discover to Air India, demanding a response inside seven days. After reveiwing the response, the regulator discovered Air India responsible and imposed a superb of Rs 30 lakh.

The airline stated that the passenger’s spouse had been supplied a wheelchair and employees had requested him to attend whereas they organized one other one. But he as a substitute selected to stroll to the terminal along with his spouse.

“One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse,” Air India stated.

Upon examination, DGCA discovered that Air India had not complied with the norms which particularly addresses the “Carriage by Air – Persons with Disability (Divyangjan) and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility.” This failure to stick to the laws outlined in Aircraft Rules, 1937, prompted the superb on the airline.

The DGCA has additionally issued an advisory to all airways stressing the necessity to guarantee an enough variety of wheelchairs for passengers requiring help throughout embarking or disembarking from the plane.