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Virali Modi, a disability rights activist and motivational speaker, took to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday to share her unpleasant experience with IndiGo airline.
The 32-year-old, who has been paralysed from the waist down since 2006 and uses a wheelchair for mobility, said she flew from Delhi to Mumbai on December 5 on an IndiGo flight. After the passengers deplaned, the cabin crew forgot she was on the flight, Modi wrote.
She had to inform the cleaning crew to help her deboard, she claimed. Then the cabin crew rushed to arrange an aisle wheelchair for her. Modi said she had to wait for 40 minutes to deplane after everyone else had exited the flight.
She said she could not alert the cabin crew because the call button was out of reach for her. She said she had even informed them that she required a wheelchair at the gate but they failed to provide it.
Modi also claimed that the helper from IndiGo who had come to assist her was negligent as well. “My legs were stiff but he kept on pushing the aisle chair. As soon as I arrived to the baggage claim, my wheelchair was nowhere to be seen,” she wrote.
While her fellow passengers were leaving the airport after collecting their luggage, she had to wait another 30 minutes for her personal wheelchair because the airline staff had not bothered to bring it from the aircraft, she alleged.
When she reached her car, she said the helper kept on removing her personal wheelchair’s cushion. She said when she reached home, she realised her cushion was missing. “That cushion is specifically made for me and my spine for the utmost comfort since I use a wheelchair full time,” she said.
After reaching home, she said she called IndiGo customer care and for 55 minutes she was on hold. “The only resolution they had was to send an e-mail. No one was apologetic about my ordeal nor did they want to find a resolution. Right now, I am left stranded on my bed with my independency stolen by Indigo and their carelessness. I cannot sit on my wheelchair without my cushion. Even though I have a disability, Indigo has left me disabled in the truest sense. What am I supposed to do in this situation?” she wrote further.
Indigo Airlines does NOT care about their passengers with disabilities. I’ve been paralysed from the waist down since 2006 and I use a wheelchair for mobility. I flew from Delhi to Mumbai on 5th December, 2023 on flight number 6E-864. After everyone deplaned, the cabin crew…
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) December 6, 2023
In another tweet, she mentioned how losing a cushion is not like losing a shoe or a piece of clothing that is readily available. “I have to get it custom-made, to ensure that while I’m sitting for 14-15 hours at a stretch on my wheelchair, I do not get sores or get a bad back. When will this country ever learn?” she wrote.
Losing a cushion is not like losing a shoe or a piece of clothing which are readily available in malls and high-street stores to be bought. I have to get it custom-made, to ensure that while I’m sitting for 14-15 hours at a stretch on my wheelchair, I do not get sores or get a…
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) December 6, 2023
What was ironic, she said, is that it was International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
Modi informed in another tweet on Wednesday that the matter with IndiGo has been resolved and the airline is making a customisable cushion according to the specifications of her wheelchair and will deliver it to her.
UPDATE: I’m in touch with Indigo. They’re specifically making a customisable cushion according to the specifications of my wheelchair and they’ll be delivering it either tonight or tomorrow.
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) December 6, 2023
“UPDATE: I’m in touch with Indigo. They’re specifically making a customisable cushion according to the specifications of my wheelchair and they’ll be delivering it either tonight or tomorrow,” she wrote.
“To get a positive response from #Indigo you had to write this scathing post. Shame on them,” a user commented. “Only social media post gets attention and response these days…No one cares about individual complaints directly,” said another. “Very sorry for the ordeal that you had to endure. Indigo’s gesture, though too little too late does validate the power of social media,” posted a third.
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