To term it unethical behavior is to understate the nature of my complaint. The incident i am about to relate to you concerns total disregard of all safety norms, and the abject and absolute unprofessional conduct of your commercial staff. Before i proceed further to redress my complaint l am going to take it up on a war footing and inform all concerned agencies about the attitude and behavior of your staff at Hyderabad.
My wife and I are both Senior Citizens had the following sectors as our vacation itinerary:
16th May - Hyderabad to Kochi - 6E 683 - INDIGO
19th May - Kochi to Calicut - IX 473 - AIR INDIA EXPRESS
23rd May - Calicut to Madras - 9W422/469 - JET AIRWAYS
26th May - Madras to Hyderabad - 6E 269 - INDIGO
Our gate for boarding at Hyderabad was #26. My wife has problems with her knees and is unable to use stairs or escalators. On arrival at the gate we discovered that only that particular gate there had no direct lift to the floor below. There was a slightly longer route and so I requested one of your staff for a wheelchair. She said she would leave a message for the staff who will supervise boarding and that I should inform them before boarding commences. Accordingly as soon as we arrived at the counter I informed them and they agreed. After the two - Jhansi and her mate whose name I noted but lost in the ensuing confusion - held a discussion and informed me that they were unable to help as we should have informed at the time of checkin. I informed them that had I known about the non-availability of the lift I would have done exactly that. I requested them to help but both were adamant. When I said I would register a complaint with Indigo they were virtually goading me to do so and instead of trying to help they shouted their names to me.
We continued to wait and asked to speak to the supervisor. They contacted the supervisor who they said was coming but did not turn up. By this time the boarding was nearly over and when I raised my voice and demanded to see the duty officer they asked me if I wanted to go on this flight or by a later one. Do you recruit your personnel from the local nut house? We have booked days in advance for this particular flight so why should we wish to go by a later flight?
By now boarding was over and these two were in a rush to close the counter. They said that if we wished to avoid delaying the flight we should leave by the escalator. We insisted that my wife cannot use the escalator. We were in Singapore for five years and never once was she able to use an escalator. We were standing between the steps and the escalator when one of them said that she would help her on the escalator. Before we could stop her she pulled my wife onto the escalator. I rushed in to help her but by then she had fallen and was dragged to the bottom. Since i was holding onto the travelling rail i did not fall but was twisted from side to side and twisted my ankle. We have a very reliable witness to the entire incident.
The two then managed to get the arrival door open by requesting the security staff M/S Madhuri Kenekar. The duo said that normally the CISF personnel refuse to open the arrival door. M/s Kenekar assured us that whenever requested they open the door. She also mentioned that most airline staff do not like to have the door opened because to bring a passenger through that door from the floor above incurs a much longer walk for concerned staff. So the passenger pays with injuries for your staff's lackadaisical attitude to passenger safety.
My wife and I have suffered the ignominy of falling down and being dragged on the escalator resulting in leg and back injuries to my wife. It is by the Grace and Mercy of our Savior that we did not get severely injured. I have the doctors report about my wife's injuries.
We continued our journey to Calicut to rest in our house and cancelled the rest of the itinerary. Depending upon your concern, your reaction to our complaint and response to this mail, I have several avenues open to me to highlight the callous attitude of your staff and their total disregard to passenger safety. They are:
1. Write and inform IATA,
2. Register a complaint with IAPA
3. Write to your partner airlines about the pathetic attitude of your staff to passenger concerns.
4. Advertise your careless handling of passengers to other domestic airlines in India and a few prominent foreign airlines.
5. Write to a chosen few well read and circulated Indian and foreign newspapers and journals.
6. Get my lawyer to study how best we can get compensation for the cancelled flights and the compensation for her injuries and the disruption of our vacation.
7. Highlight on various passenger safety forums about your lack of concern to passenger safety.
I look forward to your reply to this mail in the next 72 hours. As I have stressed earlier I do not intend to sit back and remain passive about this incident.
Regards,
Christopher Titus
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