Wheelchair-bound passenger not allowed to board flight

A wheelchair-bound passenger on Tuesday claimed he was not allowed to board the Air India flight from Bangalore to Kolkata on December 17.

The passenger, Kaushik Majumdar, who is a researcher at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), alleged harassment by the airline's ground staff just before he was to board the Bengaluru-Kolkata flight.

Recounting his experience to ANI, Majumdar claimed that he was told that all the wires connected to the battery of his wheelchair would be dismantled.

"I was boarding the flight to Kolkata, it was Air India flight no. AI776. After taking my boarding pass and clearing the security check, I was told that I have to remove the battery of my wheelchair and shift to a non-electrical wheelchair, which I did. But despite disconnecting the battery of the wheelchair, the staff said that all the wires connected to the battery had to be removed. Now that was completely impossible for me because there are many wires and removing them and putting them back is an expert's job," he said.

According to reports, Air India refuted his harassment charges. They said that the passenger was clearly told at the time of check-in that the battery-operated wheelchair would not be allowed on-board the flight.