Full text: IndiGo says 'whistleblower' instigated passenger's assault, had to be sacked

IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said he personally spoke to the customer and apologised to him the same day

IndiGo Airlines on Tuesday issued an apology and fired the staffer who shot the video in which an airline staffer is seen manhandling a passenger at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. 

IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh said that the ex-staffer who is claiming to be the 'whistleblower' is the one who instigated the incident and prevented the customer from boarding the bus.

 

"Even while the investigation was going on we immediately suspended the involved employees," Ghosh said.

Photo courtesy: Rajiv Soni's Facebook post

In the video, Rajeev Katyal is first seen being stopped from entering a coach, then pulled back by a ground staff. Another airline employee is seen restraining the traveller.They then manhandled him and pinned him to the ground by his throat.The passenger fought back and fell to the ground in the melee. The incident occured on October 15.

Here is the full text of IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh's response to the incident:

Just wanted you to know the reality. I personally called and apologised to the customer three weeks ago. Not now. But on the very same night. Not once have we blamed the customer or justified the conduct of the employee. We immediately suspended them and terminated the errant employee.

The ex-employee who is claiming to the whistleblower is the one who was screaming at the customer and shouting Roklay Roklay Isay preventing the customer from boarding the bus. He was four years senior to the other two employees. And instead of acting maturely, he is the one who instigated the incident. He is the one who prevented the customer from departing in the bus. You can hear his voice in the first parts of the video. He was a cargo employee. He had no business being there. And had no business shouting at the customer. Under the code of conduct violation, this incident was investigated by the designated committee and stern action was taken against the staff. He is the exact opposite of what IndiGo’s customer service aims to be. 

Treating our customers with respect is core to what we do. Every day we take tens of thousands of happy customers to where they need to get to. It is for this reason that customers choose IndiGo more number of times than any other airline in the country.

The incident that happened at Delhi airport is entirely the opposite of this and against what we stand for at IndiGo. The video of this incident came to our attention and we took action immediately. We did not wait for the video to be played out in the media. 

Even while the investigation was going on we immediately suspended the involved employees. 

I personally spoke to the customer and apologised to him the very same day. Whatever may have been the provocation, our staff were completely out of line and didn’t follow laid down procedures. 

We acknowledge the unpleasant experience our passenger went through while engaging with our staff. Once again, this does not reflect our culture and what we stand for.

At IndiGo, the dignity of our passengers and staff is of utmost importance. Any act that compromises the dignity of either is of a serious concern to us.

Once again our personal and sincere apologies to the affected passenger.

#WATCH: IndiGo staff manhandle a passenger at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (Note: Strong language) pic.twitter.com/v2ola0YzqC

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2017