'As a Doctor, I Urged The IndiGo Manager to Let The Special Needs Child Board'

May 10, 2022

Reporter: Sakshat Chandok

(Dr Sumit Ray is a senior consultant in critical care medicine. He was waiting at the Ranchi Airport when IndiGo barred a child with disabilities to board a flight to Hyderabad. The following is an as-told-to account, recorded and written by Sakshat Chandok.)

I was waiting at the Ranchi Airport on 7 May when I heard that a special needs child was crying. He was irritable and hungry as he had just come from a long, uncomfortable car ride, and his parents were looking after him.

He also had a cast on his arm, and was probably in some pain and discomfort, which made him restless and added to his woes.

Since he was a child with multiple disabilities, he took some time to calm down. When he finally did, it was time for their flight to start boarding passengers.

At that time, a manager from IndiGo said that since the child was "crying and panicking", he couldn't allow him to board the flight. He has to become "normal", the manager asserted.

Since the child was stopped from boarding, many passengers took it up with the the IndiGo representative. They explained to him that the child has special needs, and that he was restless earlier but had calmed down later. And after the child had stopped crying, he was sitting calmly on the wheelchair for 25-30 minutes.

There was also a team of six to seven doctors who were also boarding the same flight as the child and his parents. They said that if there is any problem on board, they would take care of it. "He's a child on a wheelchair," the doctors told the manager, adding, "He cannot be a threat to anybody.”

IndiGo Manager Was Unempathetic and Particularly Aggressive

The IndiGo manager was arguing with everybody. "You don’t understand. The child is panicking," he said, asserting that people who are under the influence of alcohol or behaving like the child would not be allowed to board.

Everybody got angry with him, but still people were very polite. The passengers on his flight and on other flights came together to explain to him, cajole him, but to no avail. They also urged him to call his senior, to which he said, "I am the senior person."

At that point I questioned him, “Do you even understand what the child’s problem is?” To which he replied that he knew it. So, I asked him what the child suffered from. “That’s not important. He was panicking," the manager retorted.

We asked him whether there was a doctor in the IndiGo team, to which he said that there wasn’t one. Then I suggested to him to call the airport doctor to examine the child.

Some people even asked him to talk to the captain of the flight, which he completely ignored.

I also said that as doctors, we know that the child is not going to be a threat to anybody. But he just refused. He was aggressive and unempathetic.

Lacking in Training

I’m not trying to blame any airline. IndiGo has a fair reputation of taking care of people with special needs. But obviously there is something lacking in their training.

And it’s not just training. The manager was particularly difficult. Even the policemen who were there, who have no authority to allow a person on the flight, were asking the manager to let the child board.

He repeatedly said that the child had to become “normal”, to which we said that normal for him is different compared to what it might be for you. He was totally unwilling to listen or understand. He didn’t even know what disability meant.

He knew that most passengers would have to leave to catch their flights sooner or later, so he delayed the entire process to ensure that the child does not board the scheduled flight.

It is absolutely essential that we sensitise staff, particularly those who are dealing with people with special needs at different sites of interaction.

Sensitisation in different areas has certainly helped to create more awareness. In this particular situation, what the media, disability sector activists and others have done, has made people aware of special needs to a great extent.

IndiGo claims that they are good with people with disabilities, and I’m certainly not countering their claim. But in this situation, there was a failure on the part of the system.

According to me, the airline should have flown the child on the next direct flight. They should have an SOP in such a situation, as per which they should become more aware and receptive. Secondly, if so many people are saying something that is in disagreement with the airline’s representative, he needs to involve his seniors.

Sensitivity of People The Only Good Thing to Come Out Of This Sad Story

The nicest thing to come out of this sad story was the sensitivity of people. There was not a single person apart from the manager who said that the child should not be allowed to board.

Every passenger on the boy’s flight said that they had no problem with the child flying in the same plane. Most people in the airport didn’t know what kind of special needs the child had. But they had the empathy and understanding that he required a special kind of care.

It was just this manager and his ego that did not permit the child to board. “You are stuck now because of your ego,” almost everybody told him, but he didn’t listen.

Impact on the Child

It is obviously distressing for the child. I don’t know how much of it will he register, but now he might probably be more anxious in public places, especially when he has to travel.

The parents may consciously or subconsciously curtail their or their child’s travel as well as their own interactions with people – especially in public.

I remember seeing the father. He was on the verge of tears. It was a mix of anger, desperation, and sadness that he was going through.

I know it is easier said than done, but one can only hope that the family may look at the positive side of this situation someday which was that so many people came out in support of them and their child. But, I can imagine how difficult it must be for them.

(The Quint has reached out to IndiGo for a comment on the manager's demeanour. The article will be updated as and when they respond. On 9 May, in an official statement from IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta, the airline had expressed "sincere regrets to the affected family for the unfortunate experience".)

Published: 10 May 2022, 11:58 AM IST

Edited By :Padmashree Pande

thequint.com/news/india/first-person-account-doctor-on-special-needs-child-on-indigo-flight-at-ranchi-airport

Disabled woman, 80, made to strip at Assam airport

25 Mar 2022

Kangkan Kalita

GUWAHATI: An 80-year-old Nagaland woman in a wheelchair was allegedly made to pull down her undergarment during security check at Guwahati airport on Thursday after her surgically embedded hip plate caused CISF personnel on duty to suspect something was amiss.

Her daughter, anthropologist Dolly Kikon, later tweeted that the CISF team also harassed the woman’s caretaker when she wanted to lodge a complaint. “It’s disgusting! My 80-year-old disabled mother was forced to pull down her undergarment and get naked. Why?” Kikon wrote.

Airport officials admitted the CISF personnel could have been more sensitive. “Minutes after the incident was reported, airport officials and CISF officers spoke to the lady and the person who was with her. They left for Delhi by a GoAir flight, apparently in a happy mood. The tweet was made before the issue was resolved,” said chief airport officer Utpal Baruah. Later, Kikon said senior officials, including the CISF DIG, had reached out to her.

Airport sources said several instances of gold being smuggled through passengers in wheelchair, including in their rectum, had made CISF personnel extra cautious.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/disabled-woman-80-made-to-strip-at-assam-airport/articleshow/90429116.cms

@CISFHQrs

My 80 year old disabled mom was made to strip at the CISFsecurity check at Guwahati airport. The security personnel wanted "proof" of her titanium hip implant and forced her to undress. @himantabiswa @guwahatiplus @GuwahatiAirport

Is that how we treat seniors

— Dolly Kikon (@DollyKikon) March 24, 2022

Draft guideline issued to ensure ease during air travel for disabled people

October 27, 2021

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday issued draft guidelines for aviation sector stakeholders such as airlines and airports to ensure disabled people can travel at ease

NEW DELHI : The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday issued draft guidelines for aviation sector stakeholders such as airlines and airports to ensure disabled people can travel at ease.

Actor and dancer Sudha Chandran had last week, in a video posted on social media, narrated her ordeal of how she was made to remove her prosthetic limb every time during a security check at any airport.

According to the draft guidelines, airport operators must make special arrangements to facilitate screening of persons with special needs so that the process is carried out efficiently "keeping the dignity and privacy of the passenger in mind".

During the screening of prosthetics, the airport security -- which is handled by the CISF at most of the airports -- might use X-ray, explosive trace detection devices or visual checks according to their requirement, it mentioned.

The passenger -- who has a prosthetic limb -- will first pass through the door frame metal detector and should then be taken to a private screening point and made to sit comfortably, it noted.

This passenger will then receive additional screening including a pat-down, the draft guidelines said.

"A prosthetic appliance which does not have any foam padding cover under which any weapon or explosive can be concealed and in which the steel rod of the appliance is clearly visible may be screened by visual inspection and ETD checks only, without removing it."

However, in rare cases, where there is sufficient justification including profiling of the passenger, X-ray screening may be resorted to, it stated, adding the justification for subjecting a prosthetic limb to X-ray screening shall be recorded by the screener in a register

Prosthetic appliances that are covered in foam padding and in which the steel rod is not visible must undergo X-ray screening, it mentioned.

The draft guidelines also said that passengers who have external devices including insulin pumps, hearing aids, cochlear implants, spinal stimulators, bone growth stimulators and ostomies will not have to disconnect them for X-ray screening.

Under most circumstances, a passenger can conduct a self-pat-down of these devices followed by ETD screening of his or her hands, it added.

Disabled passengers should inform the airline about their complete requirement 48 hours before the scheduled departure so that the carrier can make necessary arrangements, it mentioned.

If a passenger wants to check-in their wheelchair at the airport, the airline must ensure that the wheelchair is duly taxed and sent to the baggage make-up area with a service partner to avoid any damage, it noted.

Passengers should check with the airline on the specific requirements of bringing service animals on flights. A low floor coach or a ramp should be used for comfortable boarding or debarring of wheelchair users, the draft guidelines mentioned.

"Airlines should ensure that a disability awareness training is conducted for new hires and ensure periodic refreshers are conducted for all staff to reiterate policies and standard operating procedures on customer assistance with different types of disabilities," it mentioned.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has given three weeks for people to send their comments and suggestions on the draft "Accessibility Standards and Guidelines for Civil Aviation", after which final guidelines will be issued.

business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/draft-guideline-issued-to-ensure-ease-during-air-travel-for-disabled-people-121102601823_1.html

CISF issues apology after Sudha Chandran shares airport ordeal due to her prosthetic limb

23 Oct 2021 

New Delhi :

After actor and dancer Sudha Chandran shared her ordeal at the airport due to the ‘grilling’ that was conducted because of her prosthetic limb, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has issued an apology on social media. They have promised that they will look into the matter and will “examine why the lady personnel concerned requested Ms. Sudhaa Chandran to remove the prosthetics.”

Responding to Sudha’s complaint where she also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CISF wrote, “We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to Ms. Sudhaa Chandran. As per protocol, prosthetics are to be removed for security checks only under exceptional circumstances.”

They added, “We will examine why the lady personnel concerned requested Ms. Sudhaa Chandran to remove the prosthetics. We assure Ms.Sudhaa Chandran that all our personnel will be sensitised again on the protocols so that no inconvenience is caused to travelling passengers.”

In an Instagram video shared on Thursday, Sudha Chandran shared that every time she travels for her professional assignments, she is grilled by the security agencies. Despite her request to the airport authorities to conduct an ETD (Explosive Trace Detector) for her artificial limb, they ask her to remove it every time. Sudha Chandran lost her leg in an accident. But she returned to acting and dancing with a prosthetic limb.

The actor also urged PM Modi to issue a card to people with prosthetic limbs just like senior citizens who are issued a card. “Good evening, this is a very personal note that I want to tell to our dear Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, this is an appeal to the central government, I am Sudhaa Chandran, an actress and dancer by profession, who has danced with an artificial limb and created history and made my country very proud of me,” she said in her post.

“But every time that I go on my professional visits, each time, am stopped at the airport and when I request them at the security, to the CISF officers that please do an ETD (Explosive Trace Detector) for my artificial limb, they still want me to remove my artificial limb and show it to them. Is this humanly possible, Modi ji? Is this what our country is talking about? Is this the respect that a woman gives to another woman in our society?” she asked.

Sudha Chandran is a popular face on Indian television. She became a household name after playing the role of Ramola Sikand in Kaahin Kissii Roz. She has been a part of Ekta Kapoor’s hit TV show Naagin as well.

indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/cisf-issues-apology-after-sudha-chandran-shares-airport-ordeal-due-to-her-prosthetic-limb-7585294/

‘She doesn’t look disabled’: Woman in wheelchair asked to stand up at Delhi airport

10 September 2019

Avantika Chopra

New Delhi : 

Disability rights activist Virali Modi was left feeling distressed when a CISF personnel at the Delhi airport repeatedly asked her to get up from her wheelchair for security check on Monday. Modi, who suffered a spinal injury in 2006 following which she began using wheelchair, was travelling to Mumbai when the incident occurred. Acknowledging the episode, CISF has ordered an inquiry into the matter. 

 Sharing her ordeal on social media, Modi tweeted, “‘You have to stand-up for a security checking. Stop doing drama,’ the CISF at Delhi airport said to me.” Along with the post are screenshots of notes she has written explaining what happened at the airport. The 28-year-old had submitted her wheelchair at the check-in counter and had informed the airport authorities about her disability. After which, she was assigned a porter all the way to her seat. 

However, as Modi reached the security check, she was asked to stand up by the CISF staff. When she repeatedly told them about her disability, she was asked to wait as the security check personnel went to speak to her senior. “She went behind the curtain citing that she would call an official. She then started saying to another woman that I was doing ‘drama’ and being a ‘dramebaaz’,” Modi told the indianexpress.com. 

 “YOU HAVE TO STAND UP FOR SECURITY CHECKING! STOP DOING DRAMA!,” – The CISF at Delhi airport said this to me. @jayantsinha @CISFHQrs @DelhiAirport @debolin_sen @BookLuster @guptasonali PLEASE RT – THIS TREATMENT TOWARDS THE DISABLED IS RIDICULOUS pic.twitter.com/WGYFULblUm — Virali Modi (@Virali01) September 9, 2019 

Miffed at their behaviour, Modi confronted the official. “When I made a scene, she told me she was talking about someone else and not me.” As the issue escalated, another woman took over and did the manual check-in and let Modi proceed, she claims. When asked, what may have triggered such a reaction from the CISF security staff, Modi said, “She told the other staff member that I did not look disabled.” 

The episode, which lasted for around 20-minutes, left the 28-year-old emotionally drained. Though she was contacted by a senior CISF official Delhi, Arun Singh, who “apologised” and “expressed his regret”, Modi thinks it is not enough. “That is not enough. I want a public written apology because a lot of people with disability have come out and shared their experiences with the CISF.” 

CISF spokesperson Hemendra Singh commented on the incident and told indianexpress.com, “Our personnel are properly trained to deal with specially-abled persons. CISF has already introduced measures not to cause any inconvenience to them.” When asked what is being done about the Delhi airport incident, he said that CISF has ordered an inquiry into it. 

This is, however, not the first time this has happened with Modi. Back in November 2018, she went through an unfortunate security check that left her hospitalised. “I was at Bombay airport and the woman at the security, to look underneath, pulled my leg so hard that I injured my knee for that and had to be hospitalised because of this.”

indianexpress.com/article/india/she-doesnt-look-disabled-wheelchair-bound-asked-to-stand-for-security-check-at-delhi-airport-5982594/ 

“YOU HAVE TO STAND UP FOR SECURITY CHECKING! STOP DOING DRAMA!,” - The CISF at Delhi airport said this to me. @jayantsinha @CISFHQrs @DelhiAirport @debolin_sen @BookLuster @guptasonali PLEASE RT - THIS TREATMENT TOWARDS THE DISABLED IS RIDICULOUS pic.twitter.com/WGYFULblUm

— Virali Modi (@Virali01) September 9, 2019

Discriminated for no fault: Airlines, airports in India fail their ‘special’ fliers

For the disabled, journeys on domestic flights are tales of never-ending turbulence. Days after the de-boarding of paraathlete Madhu Bagri from a Hyderabad-bound plane, the demand for standardisation of air travel protocols for the disabled has grown stronger. 

Hyderabad: International paraathlete Suvarna Raj says that she was de-boarded from a plane in a similar manner last month. “I reached a little late than usual and was given my boarding pass. But they denied me entry because my security check would take longer,” she says. She missed her flight and was allocated a seat on a flight which departed the next day. 

Experts say that such an incident would have never occurred had India been following International Protocol and using Explosive Trace Detection Systems (ETDs). These systems allow for security checks to be carried out without disabled persons having to part with their accessibility gear. 

Nipun Malhotra, the founder of the Nipman Foundation, says, “I filed an RTI and found that over 77 airports in the country have ETDs, but they are not being used anywhere. Instead, we are forced to be transferred from our wheelchair or remove our prosthetic limbs in the name of security.”

Persons with disability ask why they have to undergo such humiliation when the necessary technology is available.

Their troubles do not end after the security check. “As per the procedure that is followed internationally, disabled persons are allowed to take their wheelchairs up to the aircraft door, where they are shifted to aisle chairs which can pass through the cabin. However, in India, the wheelchair goes into the baggage compartment and disabled passengers are physically lifted and carried to their seats, which is not only dangerous but also humiliating,” says Ms Suvarna Raj. Some airlines do not have aisle chairs, in which case the availability of seats in the front row becomes crucial, as was in the case of Madhu Bagri.

As per the protocol to be followed in Boeing flights, disabled persons may be seated in the front row. However, in smaller ATR flights, the emergency exit doors are located in the front, requiring mobile persons to be seated adjacent to them.

Accessibility experts say that some airlines do not have any provision for the assistance of disabled persons, as a result of which they are forced to crawl or drag themselves to their seats, which constitutes a violation of their human rights.

“The crux of the problem is that there is no penalty. Every time a disabled person with some privilege faces a problem, it is highlighted. But many unprivileged disabled persons face problems on a daily basis. Why can’t the Directorate General of Civil Aviation penalise airlines, airports instead of merely issuing warnings?” asks Mr Javed Abidi, the director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People. 

Mr Abidi has helped the CISF chalk out a detailed plan of action. He says that the airline services must incorporate a provision for the declaration of disability at the ticketing stage to avoid such hassles.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/290817/airlines-airports-in-india-fail-their-special-fliers.html

Cochin International Airport snubs Paralympic champ

Athlete forced to wait in taxi car for 45 mins.

Joby John

ARUN GEORGE

Aug 18, 2017

Kochi : Even Sachin Tendulkar tweeted how “extra proud” he was “of Team India’s performance at the World Dwarf Games”, but not everyone shared the same feelings toward the champion athletes. Certainly, not the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) authorities. Kerala athlete Joby Mathew, who was the pride of the 15-member Indian team that bagged 37 medals at the World Dwarf Games held in Canada, with a personal haul of six medals, two of which were Gold, was allegedly humiliated by the airport security on his triumphant homecoming.

The 41-year-old, who is physically challenged from birth with 60 per cent disabilities, was made to sit inside the taxi, he had hired at the airport, for nearly 45 minutes while the vehicle was tied to a chain for allegedly violating traffic rules inside the premises. “It was a painful experience,” said Joby Mathew, who added that he was “humiliated” by the authorities for a “humanitarian consideration” shown by the taxi driver. “There was lot of rush at the gates and I couldn’t make it through. So, the taxi driver agreed to pick me up some 25 metres further down the exit, but the authorities treated it as a violation and chained the vehicle with me inside,” said Joby.

Ernakulam district sports council president Zakir Hussain who was at the airport to receive the athlete said the authorities kept hold of the vehicle even after being informed about the passenger’s details and his physical condition. Airport director A.C.K. Nair maintained that they had only followed rules and claimed that the athlete’s vehicle was released soon after they found out who he was. “The driver had broken the rules by taking a one-way,” said Mr Nair. Meanwhile, Joby informed that their journey until then had been pleasant as the cabin crew of all three flights they boarded from Canada to Kochi had announced “how proud they were to have us on board”.

deccanchronicle.com/sports/in-other-news/180817/cochin-international-airport-snubs-paralympic-champ.html