Mumbai: Bombay high court on Monday said it is considering appointing a committee that may include a former judge and a member of a consumer group to hear all stakeholders, including airlines, airport operators, and passenger representatives. The aim is to find a solution to tackle issues of basic human rights that affect seniors, ailing citizens, or children in need of facilities at airports or on long flights.
The high court was hearing two petitions where two ailing women and an 81-year-old recently faced a wheelchair crisis when landing at Mumbai International Airport — one from Sri Lanka, one from the US. The high court on Apr 7 called for an affidavit from the DGCA on the mechanism it has in place.
On Monday, Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna said they were satisfied with an aspect mentioned by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in affidavit submitted by advocate Leena Patil, regarding its conducting surveillance and spot checks at various airports in India. However, the bench said the idea is to pre-empt any emergency. “We want preventive action,” said the high court, in a medical exigency faced by any passenger rather than a grievance-based system.
The DGCA lawyers said they need time to find a solution. The high court said, “We are concerned with human lives.” It was amazed when DGCA said wheelchairs are “overbooked.” It said, “We know flights are overbooked, but overbooking of wheelchairs?”
Senior counsel Zal Andhyarujina, with advocate Nitesh Jain for Air India, said it is a worldwide issue and the airline would work in any reasonable manner towards a solution. The judges said, “A mere grievance redressal mechanism is no good… the issue in the petition is a larger issue across airlines and perhaps airports. We are not pointing fingers at anyone.” “How many senior citizens travel?… What is required is sensitivity by all airlines,” they added.
Andhyarujina said, “AI is fully sympathetic. It’s unique given the large diaspora that flies… 1.2 million wheelchairs are engaged in a year by Air India in international travel.” Mumbai airport has a monthly 1,00,000 wheelchair count, he added. He said the airline strove to ensure a quick response, but the issue was also of unnecessary wheelchair requests.
The high court said, “We want the highest international standards to be implemented by all aviation companies in India. Let India set the example. Though not the only solution, DGCA must impose heavy penalties for violations of rules.”
Mumbai: Bombay high court on Monday said it is considering appointing a committee that may include a former judge and a member of a consumer group to hear all stakeholders, including airlines, airport operators, and passenger representatives. The aim is to find a solution to tackle issues of basic human rights that affect seniors, ailing citizens, or children in need of facilities at airports or on long flights.
The high court was hearing two petitions where two ailing women and an 81-year-old recently faced a wheelchair crisis when landing at Mumbai International Airport — one from Sri Lanka, one from the US. The high court on Apr 7 called for an affidavit from the DGCA on the mechanism it has in place.
On Monday, Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna said they were satisfied with an aspect mentioned by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in affidavit submitted by advocate Leena Patil, regarding its conducting surveillance and spot checks at various airports in India. However, the bench said the idea is to pre-empt any emergency. “We want preventive action,” said the high court, in a medical exigency faced by any passenger rather than a grievance-based system.
The DGCA lawyers said they need time to find a solution. The high court said, “We are concerned with human lives.” It was amazed when DGCA said wheelchairs are “overbooked.” It said, “We know flights are overbooked, but overbooking of wheelchairs?”
Senior counsel Zal Andhyarujina, with advocate Nitesh Jain for Air India, said it is a worldwide issue and the airline would work in any reasonable manner towards a solution. The judges said, “A mere grievance redressal mechanism is no good… the issue in the petition is a larger issue across airlines and perhaps airports. We are not pointing fingers at anyone.” “How many senior citizens travel?… What is required is sensitivity by all airlines,” they added.
Andhyarujina said, “AI is fully sympathetic. It’s unique given the large diaspora that flies… 1.2 million wheelchairs are engaged in a year by Air India in international travel.” Mumbai airport has a monthly 1,00,000 wheelchair count, he added. He said the airline strove to ensure a quick response, but the issue was also of unnecessary wheelchair requests.
The high court said, “We want the highest international standards to be implemented by all aviation companies in India. Let India set the example. Though not the only solution, DGCA must impose heavy penalties for violations of rules.”