IndiGo ‘denies’ boarding to child with special needs

IN AN incident that raises questions over the handling of air travellers with special needs, budget airline IndiGo allegedly denied boarding to a specially abled child on a Hyderabad-bound flight at the Ranchi airport on Saturday.

A senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told The Indian Express that the aviation safety regulator is probing the incident, and that a report has been sought from the airline. IndiGo said in a statement that the child “could not board the flight…as he was in a state of panic”.

The incident was brought to light in a Facebook post by a passenger at the airport who was waiting to board another flight. The author of the post, Manisha Gupta, told The Indian Express that the IndiGo staff “did not show any compassion”.