Elderly Woman Falls After Wheelchair Delay, Air India Flags Late Arrival

Days after an 82-year-old woman suffered a fall at the Delhi airport that landed her in the hospital, Air India has admitted a delay in providing a wheelchair, but asserted it did not deny any assistance to her family. The airline also rubbished the claim that they had to wait over an hour, and said the family had arrived late for departure.

The statement came a day after the woman's granddaughter Parul Kanwar accused the airline of negligence in a long post on X. The woman, whose name as per her ticket is Raj Pasricha, is now in the ICU, under observation for potential brain bleeds.

Following an initial response yesterday, the airline shared a detailed statement today with the findings of its investigation and wished a swift recovery to the injured woman.

The family had arrived at the departure terminal much later than the recommended two hours before departure, said Air India.

"Family members/relatives accompanying the passenger had reported at the PRM (Person with Reduced Mobility) desk located near Air India's ticketing office less than 90 minutes before the scheduled time of departure to request for a wheelchair," read a statement issued by the Air India spokesperson.

Air India said they couldn't arrange a wheelchair within 15 minutes due to an "unprecedented peak demand", rubbishing Ms Kanwar's claim of waiting for an hour for the wheelchair as "baseless".

The passengers decided on their own to walk to the aircraft, but the woman fell in the airport premises, the airline said, adding that the airport doctor on duty and other officials immediately gave her first aid. It said the family refused the doctor's offer for additional medical attention and chose to continue their travel to Bengaluru.

"Through this process, Air India staff were courteous, escorted them from immediate check-in through to priority security check and boarding. The passenger was also provided all possible care during the flight from Delhi to Bengaluru," said Air India.

At the Bengaluru airport, Air India staff escorted her for further medical attention and later till the drop-off point, the airline said, asserting that at no point did their official deny wheelchair or any other assistance to the passenger.

The response follows a long post by Ms Kanwar in which she accused Air India of having "little value for human life and wellbeing." Sharing photos of her grandmother from the ICU, she wrote yesterday that they had booked an Air India flight (AI2600) from Delhi to Bengaluru on Tuesday.

She alleged that when they reached Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport, the Air India staff did not allot her a wheelchair. They tried for an hour, she alleged, but neither the airport helpdesk nor the airline staff helped them.

With no other option, the elderly woman proceeded on foot and fell in front an Air India premium economy counter, but no one stepped in to help, she said.

"Finally, the wheelchair arrived, and she was promptly boarded without a proper checkup with a bleeding lip and injury to her head and nose. On flight crew did help with ice packs and called ahead to Bangalore airport for medical aid, where she was seen by a doctor and given 2 stitches (sic)," said Ms Kanwar.