DGCA fines IndiGo Rs 5 lakh for denying boarding to child

The Directorate General Civil Aviation has imposed a Rs 5 lakh fine on domestic carrier IndiGo in the case of a specially abled child being denied boarding by the airline at Ranchi Airport on May 7.

DGCA had launched a fact-finding inquiry into the incident, for which it has formed a three-member committee. According to the findings of the committee, it had issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo. It gave IndiGo the chance to make further written submissions, as well as a personal hearing.

After completing the due process, DGCA has ruled that the handling of the special child by the Indigo ground staff was deficient and exacerbating the situation. A more compassionate handling would have smoothened the nerves, calmed the child and would have obviated the need for the extreme step resulting in denied boarding to passengers, said the aviation regulator in an official statement.

Special situations deserve extraordinary responses but the Airline staff did not rise up to the occasion and committed lapses in the letter and spirit of the Civil Aviation Requirements Regulations it further stated.

In view of this, the Competent Authority in DGCA has decided to impose a penalty of Rs. Five Lakhs on the airline were covered by the provisions of the relevant Aircraft Rules, according to the DGCA.

In order to stave off more situations like these, the DGCA has said it will revisit its own regulation and bring about necessary changes in due course. It will require written consultation with the Airport Doctor on the state of health of the passenger as well as the Commander of the Aircraft for their opinion on allowing such passengers on board.

In order to bring a more humane touch to their Standard Operating Procedures, DGCA suggested that airlines should revisit their SOPs and training processes for dealing with such cases.

On May 7, an IndiGo manager did not allow a specially-abled child to board a flight at Ranchi Airport. According to the eye-witness account shared on Twitter, the IndiGo allegedly announced that the special-abled child was a flight risk. He compared the child's condition, teenage assertiveness, to that of drunken passengers. He judged the child unfit for travel. The flight left Hyderabad and left behind the child and their parents.

The fact-finding probe was ordered by the DGCA a day after an eyewitness account of the incident went viral on Twitter.