An Indigo pilot who threatened a passenger and her 75 year old mother on-board an aircraft has been suspended temporarily by the Indian Aviation regulator (DGCA) for a period of 3 months. This incident occurred on Indigo flight 6E 806 which was flying from Chennai (India) to Bangalore (India).
According to the DGCA, "An investigation has revealed that the pilot in command misused his authority by intimidating and threatening the wheelchair-bound passenger and her attendant by saying that they will be handed over to the CISF and a police case will be registered against them for unruly behaviour... The pilot's flying licence has been suspended for a period of three months.”
The incident occured on January 13th 2019 when the flight arrived in Bangalore from Chennai. The female passenger had already requested for wheelchair assistance but was shocked to find upon arrival that there was no wheelchair available for her mother. She tried to get assistance when the captain of the flight stepped in and started shouting at her. He allegedly yelled at her and pointed at her mother and said “You are going nowhere,“ and stopped the cabin crew and ground staff from providing the passenger with a wheelchair.
The incident did not stop there, as he threatened the passenger with a night in jail. Furthermore, the passenger was made to stay inside the aircraft for almost 75 minutes as the pilot demanded a written apology from the passengers. After this, the pair was ferried to the terminal in a bus and just when they thought the entire ordeal had ended, the pilot came down to the arrival hall to threaten them further, and warned them against posting about the incident on social media. The passenger however took to social media site Twitter to recount the ordeal, leading to public outrage and the attention of Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. This led to the DGCA's investigation and eventual suspension of the Pilot in Command.
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