82-Year-Old Woman Ends Up In ICU After Air India 'Denies' Wheelchair Assistance At Delhi Airport

Parul Kanwar added in the X post that after waiting for around an hour, with no other option in sight, the senior citizen woman, with the assistance of a family member, walked slowly across three parking lanes.

Photo Credit: Parul Kanwar/X

New Delhi: An X user posted the long, harrowing tale of how her 82-year-old grandmother, the widow of a Lt General, is in the ICU following a fall at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on March 4 after Air India allegedly denied her a wheelchair that was pre-booked.

Parul Kanwar took to the social media platform and posted a detailed account of the events that unfolded at the airport. She claimed that for their travel back from Delhi to Bangalore, they had booked a wheelchair for her grandmother in advance, which was also confirmed by the airline. However, when they reached the airport, she was allegedly not allocated a wheelchair. 

Kanwar added in the post that after waiting for around an hour, with no other option in sight, the senior citizen woman, with the assistance of a family member, walked slowly across three parking lanes. 

While she managed to enter the airport, she fell in front of the Air India premium economy counter, Kanwar wrote in the post. 

Her post read, “Expectation from Air India staff was for the family member to go to the MI room and get medical aid. Finally, the wheelchair arrived, and she was promptly boarded without a proper checkup with a bleeding lip and injury to her head and nose. On flight crew did help with ice packs and called ahead to Bangalore airport for medical aid, where she was seen by a doctor and given 2 stitches.”

Kanwar claimed, “She has been here 2 days under observation for potential brain bleeds. My mother and father watch as doctors pump her with medication, and her left side loses strength. From where we stand, it’s a long road ahead of pain and recovery which she did not deserve.”

Kanwar also shared that a complaint has been filed with the DGCA and Air India.

In response to the woman’s post, Air India acknowledged the incident, stating, “Dear Ms. Kanwar, we are concerned to note this and wish Ms. Pasricha a speedy recovery. We’d like to connect with you over a call in this regard and request you share your contact number and a convenient time via DM.”

Kanwar responded, “Done, but do not call me without due diligence and investigation on your end. Not interested in excuses.”

The airline later followed up, saying, “Dear Ms. Kanwar, we sincerely wish your grandmother a speedy recovery. We are actively working on the concern and assure you that we will share the complete details at the earliest."