A recent survey from AirHelp Inc. claimed that India’s IndiGo airlines is one of the worst of airlines in the world. Amongst 109 airlines, the agency placed IndiGo on 103rd position.
IndiGo Passenger’s Fickling Experience
While IndiGo refuted these claims, casting aspersions on the veracity and credibility of AirHelp, a recent incident of an ordeal faced by a passenger does not exactly help IndiGo’s case.
A passenger taking to X revealed the harrowing ordeal that they had to face while travelling with the largest airline in the country.
In the post on X, the user said, “My harrowing tale with @IndiGo6E, so that others can be careful.”
The user, talking about the lack of an aerobridge and the consequences of it said, “On Aug 14 early morning I landed in Delhi’s T2 on an Indigo flight from Chennai. As is most common with them, no aerobridge was given, and instead they asked everyone to deboard using their ramps.”
My harrowing tale with @IndiGo6E , so that others can be careful. 1/n
On Aug 14 early morning I landed in Delhi’s T2 on an Indigo flight from Chennai. As is most common with them, no aerobridge was given, and instead they asked everyone to deboard using their ramps.
— ratnendu ray (@ratnenduray) December 4, 2024
What was in store for the passenger thereafter was nothing less than a nightmare, as the user added, “It was drizzling slightly as we landed though it had stopped when the doors opened. The ramp was dark, & as it usually does, had a rubber sheet on it. I was walking down it at normal pace. Half way down the ramp, my right foot suddenly slipped on a moist patch on the ramp.”
My ankle twisted and I fell on the ramp, and I realised almost immediately that my ankle had broken or dislocated. The foot was completely bent and the pain was absolutely excruciating. I was helped down by another passenger. This is my foot at the airport, the user added.
This slip brought undesired ramifications for the IndiGo passenger, as they injured himself, gravely dislocating his ankle.
‘IndiGo Added Insult Injury’
The user further added, “Indigo staff put me in a wheelchair and got me to the clinic at the terminal, from where I was ambulanced to a hospital in Gurgaon. As expected, they determined that it was a dislocation of my ankle joint along with a trimalleolar fracture. Basically, the ankle was shattered.”
While being injured, the user raised a complaint with the airline, and the response from the airline, according to him was like adding insult to the injury.
According to the user, IndiGo tried to pin the blame on the passenger instead. The airline indirectly accused the passenger of concocting the incident.
“In response Indigo customer service basically said (i am paraphrasing):
i. ramp wasn’t wet that could cause me to slip – implying I’m making it up or must have imagined the little damp patches
ii. I must be the idiot who can’t walk down ramps as no one else fell that day”- The X User added.
‘Cannot Offer Compensation’
The IndiGo passenger claimed that the airline not only accepted the fault, but also refused to provide him with any compensation. In addition, he also stated that the operation to fix the ailment cost him a lot of resources. Despite the operation, the passenger would not walk for months.
The user further pointed at the larger problem of this being a recurring incident in airline, and it being epidemic with airlines trying to cut cost.
He added, “and that people falling on Indigo’s ramps is a recurring thing, with newspaper articles on the matter as well! Someone also posted on LinkedIn about a fall on steep & wet Indigo ramp.”
‘Bunch of Screws In My Leg’
Enumerating in his dire situation, the X user further added, ” Now have a plate and bunch of screws in my right ankle, depend on a walker for limited mobility, deal with swollen ankles, occasional pain, two ugly surgery scars, & physiotherapy routine, hoping for some normalcy next year.
I have missed office trips, meeting family etc.
He also added, that given the situation, he is also at high risk of developing arthritis. He further added, “Almost everyone I have spoken to have said they have found the ramp @IndiGo6E provides to be wobbly, steep, and/or slippery. Imagine someone elderly or pregnant falling, with potentially dangerous life-altering consequences.”
Money Over Safety For Airlines
Previously, in 2018, the Civil Aviation Ministry had issued a circular asking the airlines in the country to use facilities like the aerobridge whenever and wherever possible. Although there is no hard and fast rule in place for the system yet. However, the country’s aviation ministry had asked airlines to prioritize passengers convenience.
However, in another report, the Parliamentary Committee, in 2022 stated that despite the circular from the Civil Aviation Ministry, airlines have actively chosen to not use these aerobridges in order to save money on the expenses attached to using these facilities.
What Does The Rulebook Say?
As per the Montreal Convention, 1999, which India is a signitary to, airlines are liable for the developments that comes to pass with the airline. Under the CHAPTER III, LIABILITY OF THE CARRIER AND EXTENT OF COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGE, Article 17, “The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury look place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.”
Exoneration
However, under Article 20 of the convention, under section ‘Exoneration’, it says, “If the carrier proves that the damage was caused or contributed to by the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the person claiming compensation, or the person from whom he or she derives his or her rights, the carrier shall be wholly or partly exonerated from its liability to the claimant to the extent that such negligence or wrongful act or omission caused or contributed to the damage.”
Furthermore, it adds, “When by reason of death or injury of a passenger compensation is claimed by a person other than the passenger, the carrier shall likewise be wholly or partly exonerated from its liability to the extent that it proves that the damage was caused or contributed to by the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of that passenger.”
