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NewsTrending NewsIndigo pilot threatens flyer who asked for wheelchair

Indigo pilot threatens flyer, her 75-yr-old mom on asking for wheelchair. Airline says case under review

Passenger says Indigo pilot harassed her and her mother just because they asked for a wheelchair. Twitter is shocked.

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Indigo pilot threatens flyer, her 75-yr-old mom on asking for wheelchair. Airline says case under review
Passenger says Indigo pilot harassed her and her mother just because they asked for a wheelchair. Photo: Reuters
India Today Web Desk
India Today Web Desk
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jan 14, 2020 21:23 IST

We often come across incidents on Twitter that leave us questioning a lot of things. A recent case of a woman saying that she was harassed and threatened by an Indigo pilot just because she asked for a wheelchair for her 75-year-old diabetic mother has been going viral online, and quite fits the bill of the 'shocking' incidents that we were talking about.

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Twitter user Supriya Unni Nair took to Twitter on January 13 and shared the details of the incident. She wrote, "IndiGo6E Your captain on 6E 806 from Chennai to Bangalore on January 13 Jayakrishna harassed, threatened and prevented me and my 75-year old diabetic mom from disembarking the flight and threatened to arrest us because we asked for wheelchair assistance."

She wrote, "I always ask for a wheelchair beforehand for my mom & remind staff when we land. Staff on all airlines have always been helpful. Our flight was late & when we landed at 9:15 I tried calling the assistance bell & when the crew didn't respond I walked up for help."

Supriya continued, "She claimed we don't have access to a wheelchair when it was clearly printed on the ticket. When I pointed this out to her, the captain came barging out and yells at me for pressing the assistance button and annoying him and his crew."

"'How dare you call her Veena he asks.' (FYI her name tag says Veena) Taken aback, I tell him not to yell at me and then the threats start. The wheelchair guys arrive and he points at mom and says you're not going anywhere," she added.

That was not all. Supriya continued, "He prevents the wheelchair people from taking my mom out of the aircraft threatening us that he will ensure we are detained and spend a night in jail. Disbelievingly I ask him whether he is serious? 'Shut up. Who do you think I am? I'll get my CEO to make sure you spend a night in jail, 'we' will teach you some manners,' he says."

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She wrote, "My mom in the meanwhile is worried as he is so aggressive that he looks like he will get physically abusive with me and says please don't be rude like that, to which he says he is the captain, his job is to fly the plane here and not be polite to mere passengers."

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She added, "You have paid piddly 2000 rupees you dont own the aircraft he adds. I will make sure you are barred from the skies he yells my mom and me."

"Veena meanwhile says - stop it na, she's recording. (I wasn't recording because this was so unexpected and I was unprepared. My husband calls my phone and he smirks, takes my husband's name and continues his abuse.)"

Supriya added, "When I tell him he can't threaten us like this, he says Yes I will threaten you. I am a captain. You can't touch us. ( again alluding to Indigo top brass)"

"He then said he will not fly the onwards flight to Goa UNTIL ME AND MY 75-YEAR-OLD MOM ARE PUT IN JAIL," she wrote.

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"The security folks and the Indigo ground staff meanwhile come and try and get us off the flight. We reach the bus and the 'captain' is meanwhile ranting and stops it from moving forward. We are the only ones on the bus and it's getting late for mom's meds," wrote Supriya.

"Bangalore airport staff, the CISF security and Indigo ground staff meanwhile are amazing and try to protect me and my mom as well during this time and are apologising profusely," wrote Supriya.

The captain of the flight even told her to think of the consequences if the incident landed up on social media. Supriya wrote, "Once we reach the arrival lounge, we are held back again. Jayakrishna is standing there ranting that "we" are not slaves, threatening me with dire consequences if I post about this on social media."

"The Indigo staff at the airport are alerted about his shouting at me and a huge lot of them came to mom and me apologising. I write a quick complaint and leave because my mom was feeling dizzy because she hadn't taken her diabetes meds," she wrote.

"Jayakrishna's parting shot was another threat that there will be an FIR filed against me and my mom.
A big thank you to all the staff at the arrival lounge at Indigo for helping us leave unhurt and safe," wrote Supriya.

"This is just a gist of how abusive Jayakrishna was. This will be never-ending if I write the whole thing. NONE of the other crew onboard 6E 806 - male Be female - intervened or helped us on the plane," wrote Nair.

She also wrote, "In this day and age when young women of integrity are fighting to get an equal standing in the workplace, it was extremely disappointing to see Veena claiming we were at fault only to later admit that the captain was indeed abusive."

She concluded, "Hope the top brass at Indigo takes note of the captain, Veena and the silent crew for such vile and misogynist behaviour. This is not how women traveling alone at night, especially the elderly should be treated ANYWHERE. I also hope this does not reflect the culture and ethos of Indigo. There are hundreds of good folks there whose reputation has been thrown to the dogs because if the likes Jayakrishna and his crew on 6E 806."

After Supriya's tweets were widely shared, Indigo also released a statement regarding the incident. They wrote, "We are aware of the complaint raised by a passenger on flight 6E 806 flying from Chennai to Bangalore last night. The matter is under internal review and necessary action will be taken. IndiGo is very cognizant of the needs of its customers and it is our constant endeavour to provide a courteous and hassle-free experience to our passengers. Our customer relations team has been in touch with the customer to ensure that her concern is understood well, and to help avoid any such experiences in the future."

Twitterati cannot believe this and comments supporting Supriya have flooded her thread.

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