Delay in providing wheelchair to elderly at Amritsar airport, video goes viral

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, July 11

A video of an elderly person Gurbax Singh Gill, seeking wheelchair assistance at Shri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport (SGRDJI) on his arrival at Amritsar from Mumbai, has gone viral. Despite mentioning wheelchair requirement in the ticket, the airline staff provided it after much delay. One of the passengers raised the issue with the airline staff and also recorded the video statement of Gurbax Singh Gill, the passenger in question.

In his video statement, Gurbax Singh Gill stated that he has been waiting for the wheelchair for the last 20 minutes.

“The airline staff didn’t provide me with a wheelchair. After alighting from the flight, I am standing here for the last 20 minutes. No one from the airline heard me,” said Gurbax Singh Gill, the passenger.

A fellow passenger of Gill claimed that he had booked a wheelchair and it was mentioned in his ticket. All the passengers left the airport but Singh was unable to move due to non-availability of a chair. Later, the airline staff provided a wheelchair to Gill. However, no formal complaint has been filed by the passenger concerned in this regard.

After the video went viral on social media, people criticised the airline for poor service. Regular passengers claimed that helpers at the airport continue to bother people by offering wheelchairs and other assistance like helping carry the luggage of the needy. The helpers demand money for providing these services to passengers, they said.

Yogesh Kamra, Convenor, Fly Amritsar Initiative, said, “It is unfortunate as clearly seen in the viral video that the ground staff of the airline kept ignoring the senior citizen’s call for a wheelchair, which is absolutely not acceptable and a violation of Civil Aviation Requirements rules set by the Director General of Civil Aviation. The airline should take a serious note of it, and if needed, a recursive training should be provided for the deputed staff members so that such incidents do not leave a bad impression.”

“In such cases, passengers or their relatives should lodge an official complaint by downloading Air Sewa mobile app or can also email to Public Grievance Officer of the airport on their official email for official action to be taken against erring employees,” said Kamra.

Passengers requiring wheelchair assistance need to register for the service during ticket reservation or by calling airline customer service at least 48 hours in advance. However, it is the complete responsibility and service delivery of the airline and its deputed station manager to ensure that such services are provided without any exception, he added.