Latest news with #Chimthanawala
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
Blind Passenger Claims IndiGo Staff Humiliated Him, Mother At Mumbai Airport; Airline Responds
Last Updated: The incident, which occurred on June 14, was shared in a detailed LinkedIn post by Turab Chimthanawala A visually impaired passenger alleged that he and his mother were mistreated by IndiGo staff at Mumbai airport during a recent journey to Guwahati. The incident, which occurred on June 14, was shared in a detailed LinkedIn post by Turab Chimthanawala, who accused the airline of failing to provide promised assistance and of displaying a lack of empathy. Chimthanawala said he had notified IndiGo in advance about his condition and requested support, however, upon arrival at the airport, he claimed the assistance offered was inadequate and unprofessional. 'Instead of a trained staffer, an untrained one showed up — unsure of how to even navigate entry gates. My mother had to guide him to the boarding area. There, staff whispered, gestured, and mocked my request for help despite my mother being present. One falsely claimed assistance only goes till security and suggested I follow a wheelchair passenger. This isn't just wrong — it's illegal. Indian law entitles blind passengers to support right up to the aircraft door," he wrote. He further alleged that the staff displayed dismissive behaviour and left him feeling like an inconvenience. 'Staff continued to smirk, treating me like an inconvenience. We decided to manage on our own," Chimthanawala said. According to his post, assistance was only offered when he visibly struggled with his luggage. Even then, he claimed, the staff member assigned to help walked ahead without offering any real support. 'At security, we told him we'd go alone. Later, a gate staffer asked if I needed help, and walked away on seeing my mother. Even onboard, crew saw my white cane but offered no assistance," he added. He also recounted previous negative experiences with the airline. 'This isn't an isolated incident. On past IndiGo flights, I've experienced apathy and even mockery. Once, I was made to sit on a seat with no cushion," he wrote. 'How long must we suffer in silence? Should blind passengers have to ask for basic dignity?" he questioned in his post. IndiGo Responds IndiGo responded by expressing regret over the incident: 'We sincerely regret the experience shared by Mr. Chimthanawala," the airline stated. He also mentioned that Pratik Arjun Sen, IndiGo's Director of Customer Experience, had reached out and initiated corrective steps, including sensitising ground staff at Mumbai airport. The post drew widespread attention on social media, with several users expressing outrage. One commenter wrote, 'I'm sorry you had to go through this once again. It is shameful how, despite all the complaints and incidents reported to the airlines, there still exists this apathy and lack of interest in their passengers' comfort." Another user remarked, 'I'm genuinely surprised you went with IndiGo again after your earlier experience. Their responses are always the same — cold, robotic apologies without any real change." Chimthanawala's post has reignited the conversation on social media around accessibility and the treatment of differently-abled passengers in India's aviation sector.
NDTV
7 hours ago
- NDTV
Mumbai Man Accuses IndiGo Staff Of Humiliating Blind Mother, Airline Reacts
A passenger has accused IndiGo staff at Mumbai airport of humiliating his blind mother during a recent journey to Guwahati. In a detailed LinkedIn post, Turab Chimthanawala shared his frustrating experience with the budget carrier, which took place on June 14. He said that he had informed IndiGo in advance about his mother's condition and requested assistance. However, when they reached the airport, things went downhill as "untrianed" staff failed to provide promised assistance. "Instead of a trained staffer, an untrained one showed up - unsure of how to even navigate entry gates. My mother had to guide him to the boarding area. There, staff whispered, gestured, and mocked my request for help despite my mother being present. One falsely claimed assistance only goes till security and suggested I follow a wheelchair passenger. This isn't just wrong - it's illegal. Indian law entitles blind passengers to support right up to the aircraft door," Mr Chimthanawala wrote. "Staff continued to smirk, treating me like an inconvenience. We decided to manage on our own," he said. According to Mr Chimthanawala, it was only when he was visibly struggling with his luggage that someone stepped in. Even then, he alleged that the assigned staffer walked ahead without offering real support. "At security, we told him we'd go alone. Later, a gate staffer asked if I needed help, and walked away on seeing my mother. Even onboard, crew saw my white cane but offered no assistance," Chimthanawala said. "This isn't an isolated incident. On past Indigo flights, I've experienced apathy and even mockery. Once, I was made to sit on a seat with no cushion," he shared. "How long must we suffer in silence? Should blind passengers have to ask for basic dignity?" he questioned. IndiGo has responded to Mr Chimthanawala's post, saying that the airline "sincerely regrets" his experience. In the comments section, Mr Chimthanawala also said that IndiGo's Director of Customer Experience, Pratik Arjun Sen, is also looking into the matter and has taken corrective action, including sensitising the relevant people at Mumbai airport. Meanwhile, the LinkedIn post struck a chord with social media users. Reacting to it, one user wrote, "i'm sorry you had to go through this once again. It is shameful how despite all the complaints and incidents reported to the airlines, there still exists this apathy and lack of interest in their passengers comfort." "I'm genuinely surprised you went with Indigo again after your earlier experience. Their responses are always the same-cold, robotic apologies without any real change. Maybe it's time to stop investing your time and money in them-it just doesn't seem worth it anymore," suggested another.
India Today
12 hours ago
- India Today
Mumbai man accuses IndiGo of humiliating blind mother, calls out staff apathy
A Mumbai-based man accused IndiGo staff at the city's airport of humiliating his blind mother during their recent journey to Guwahati. Turab Chimthanawala shared his frustrating experience in a now-viral post on LinkedIn. The post, now widely shared across platforms, questions whether basic dignity is still something blind passengers must ask for.'Should blind passengers have to ask for basic dignity?' Chimthanawala said in his post. According to him, he had informed IndiGo in advance about his mother's condition and requested assistance. But when they reached the airport, things reportedly went 'Instead of a trained staffer, an untrained one showed up, unsure of how to even navigate entry gates. My mother had to guide him to the boarding area,' he issues didn't end there. At the boarding gate, Chimthanawala claimed that staff mocked his request for help, gesturing and whispering in a manner he described as of them allegedly said help would only be provided up to the security gate and advised him to 'just follow a wheelchair passenger.''There, staff whispered, gestured, and mocked my request for help despite my mother being present. One falsely claimed assistance only goes till security,' he said. He stressed that this was not only inconsiderate but illegal under Indian law, which mandates that blind passengers be assisted till the aircraft continued to smirk, treating me like an inconvenience. We decided to manage on our own,' he said as he explained that it was only when he visibly struggled with his luggage that someone stepped then, the assigned staffer reportedly walked ahead without offering real support, and at one point, a gate staffer asked if he needed help, then walked off after seeing his mother.'At security, we told him we'd go alone. Later, a gate staffer asked if I needed help, and walked away on seeing my mother. Even onboard, crew saw my white cane but offered no assistance,' Chimthanawala said, adding, 'Even onboard, crew saw my white cane but offered no assistance.' Chimthanawala said this wasn't an isolated incident. He cited previous cases where he experienced similar treatment on IndiGo flights, including one where he was made to sit on a seat with no cushion.'This isn't an isolated incident. On past Indigo flights, I've experienced apathy and even mockery. Once, I was made to sit on a seat with no cushion,' he added. While he acknowledged the efforts of Prateek Sen, IndiGo's accessibility lead, he made it clear that these efforts had not translated into action on the ground. 'To be fair, Mr Prateek Sen from IndiGo is committed to accessibility. But clearly, that commitment hasn't reached the ground staff,' he a look at the post here:The airline responded to the post saying, 'Sir, we sincerely regret to hear about your experience. We would like to investigate the matter. Kindly allow us some time, and our team will contact you shortly.'Chimthanawala's post struck a chord with many, who called out the airline for failing to treat passengers with disabilities with care and respect.'The answer is absolutely not! And yet here we are. Incident after incident. Things won't change until more people start caring about this discrimination and voicing their displeasure vociferously,' a user said. Another user added, 'I stand with you. IndiGo must apologise and be penalised - dignity and support are basic rights, not favours.'As Turab Chimthanawala's experience continues to spark debate online, one thing is clear: accessibility cannot be just a policy on paper. For India's airports to be truly inclusive, dignity must come standard, not as a Watch
