Back‘Failed to follow crew instructions’: American airlines on deboarding female cancer patient
American Airlines said on Sunday said that it deplaned a 'disruptive' passenger from its flight to JFK Airport in New York from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi allegedly for not adhering to the crew's instructions
PremiumAmerican Airlines has been subjected to widespread criticism after a 30 January incident came to limelight, wherein a female cancer patient was deplaned from a New York bound flight in Delhi. Now American Airlines has said that the female cancer patient was ‘disruptive’ and hence was deplaned.
The female cancer patient, Meenakshi Sengupta, has alleged that she was deboarded by rude crew members after she requested assistance with lugging a handbag on the overhead cabin in the aircraft.
American Airlines said on Sunday said that it deplaned a "disruptive" passenger from its flight to JFK Airport in New York from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here allegedly for not adhering to the crew's instructions.
Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought a report on the incident, a senior DGCA official said.
"On January 30, prior to the departure of American Airlines flight 293 from Delhi (DEL) to New York (JFK), a disruptive customer was removed from the aircraft for failure to follow crew member instructions," the airline said in a statement.
American Airlines also said it has reached out to the customer "to refund the unused portion of their ticket."
The women, Meenaskshi Sengupta, has lodged a complaint with Delhi Police against American Airlines regarding the 30 January incident. Sengupta has said that she recently underwent surgery and required assistance from a flight attendant to keep her hand-bag, weighing over 5 pounds, in the overhead cabin. In her complaint to the Delhi Police and the Civil Air, Sengupta stated that the flight attendant refused to help her, despite her request for assistance due to her weak limbs and the visible brace she was wearing.
Meenakshi Sengupta said that she had also requested for wheelchair assistance to her seat, "I was also wearing a brace which was visible to everyone and they would know that I have some discomfort...because I CANNOT carry any weight in my hands at all and I'm weak from the surgery and don't need to strain myself by walking a lot."
Sengupta alleged that the air hostess was "extremely rude and arrogant" in her response to her request for assistance. When Sengupta sought to raise the issue with other crew members, they were "largely indifferent" and told her she should de-board the flight if she was uncomfortable, according to Sengupta's account.
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