The Kempegodwa International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru and Indigo Airlines have been ordered to compensate a bereaved family after a passenger died of a heart attack at the International Airport.
The family members of the deceased person sued KIA and the airlines alleging that they failed to provide a wheelchair and medical assistance in a timely manner during the critical golden hour.
A consumer court in the city ordered the KIA and IndiGo authorities to pay a total of Rs 12.1 lakh in compensation within 45 days of the order. The compensation includes Rs 12,00,000 to the complainants and Rs 10,000 towards their court expenses.
The incident occurred in November 2021 when Chandra Shetty and his family arrived at the Bengaluru International Airport to travel to their hometown in Mangaluru. However, after the check-in process, Shetty collapsed on the floor, and despite his wife and daughter seeking help from the ground staff of Indigo and the airport team, they allegedly failed to provide a wheelchair to the ailing passenger.
After 45 minutes, Shetty was taken to the hospital but passed away on the way. The aggrieved family later approached a KIA police station and filed a case against IndiGo and BIAL. When the case did not make any progress, the family approached the Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Shantinagar in March 2022.
While the airport authorities denied the allegations in front of the consumer court, IndiGo did not file any response despite repeated notices. The BIAL submitted that the airport staff took the passenger to a clinic inside the terminal and then transported him in a buggy to Aster Hospital.
However, the consumer court upheld the family’s allegations, observing that the airport staff’s approach was inhuman and stating that the airlines and the airport have a responsibility to provide a safe atmosphere and timely assistance to passengers in need.
