Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 5: A female cancer patient who had just undergone surgery was allegedly removed from an American Airlines flight headed for New York at the Delhi airport after asking for help from a flight attendant to keep her handbag in the overhead compartment.
The incident was reported on January 30 and came to light after a passenger from the United States named Meenakshi Sengupta complained to the flight attendant that they had refused to assist her in placing her handbag, which weighed more than 5 pounds, in the overhead compartment because she was unable to do so due to weak limbs.
“I was also wearing a brace which was visible to everyone and they would know that I have some discomfort…because I CANNOT carry any weight in my hands at all and I’m weak from the surgery and don’t need to strain myself by walking a lot,” in her complaint to the Delhi Police and the Civil Air, Meenakshi Sengupta said. She also said that she had requested wheelchair assistance to her seat.
Sengupta continued by saying that despite her many requests for help, the other woman rudely refused, told her to complete the task on her own, and left.
Social media users urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) to take notice of the incident after it became viral there.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, has taken notice of the situation and requested American Airlines’ report.
In a formal statement, the airline claimed that Sengupta has been contacted by a member of its Customer Relations team regarding a refund for the unused portion of her ticket.
