3/28/24, 12:36 PM Indian fliers love wheelchairs.

Here’s why that’s a problem | India News - Times of India

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Indian fliers love wheelchairs. Here’s why that’s a problem

Manju V (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/author-manjuv-479206725)
TNN Mar 27, 2024, 19:40 IST IST

The facility is widely misused, so passengers who genuinely need wheelchairs on landing — like the 80-year-old man who died of a heart attack at
Mumbai airport in February — are deprived of it

Lakhs of fliers place wheelchair assistance requests while booking tickets every year, but it’s an open secret
that not every passenger who opts for wheelchair assistance at an airport genuinely needs it. Airlines have
condoned this ‘trickery’ so far to attract more bookings, but that could change with the death of an 80-year-old
man at Mumbai airport in February.
The man and his wife had arrived on a New York-Mumbai Air India flight that had altogether 32 wheelchair
assistance requests, but the airline had placed only 15 wheelchairs on the ground. Due to the shortage, only
one wheelchair was available for the couple. Instead of waiting for a wheelchair to return, the man walked to
the immigration counter beside his wife and suffered a heart attack.

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