'Broken Table & Leg Rests': Vir Das SLAMS Air India For Not Arranging Wheelchair For Injured Wife Despite Paying ₹50,000 For Delhi Flight
Comedian and actor Vir Das lashed out at Air India airlines for not providing his wife with a wheelchair despite specifically asking and paying for it in advance. He also highlighted the condition of the "refurbished" aircraft and said that they got broken tables and leg rests in spite of paying Rs 50,000 per seat.
Das took to his X handle in the wee hours of Tuesday and ranted his heart out in a long post. "Dear @airindia Please reclaim your wheelchair. I’m a lifetime loyalist. I believe you’ve got the nicest cabin crew in the sky, this post pains me to write (sic)," he began.
He went on to say, "My wife and I book Pranaam and a wheelchair because she’s got a foot fracture that’s still healing. We’re flying to delhi. 50grand a seat. Broken table, broken leg rests, her seat is stuck reclined, won’t straighten fully. Were told the flight is ‘newly refurbished’. Two hours late, we get off in delhi and we’re told it’s a stepladder. Again wheelchair and encalm pre-booked. I ask the air hostesses at the front of the plane to assist my wife while I carry four bags. Silence and a clueless look at each other (sic)."
He further continued, "We step off the plane to the top of the ladder. I ask an air India male ground staff member to help us, looks at me, shrugs, and Ignores me. My wife with a fracture makes it down the stepladder. I tell an Air India staff member at the bottom near the buses what happened. He says “sir kya Karein…sorry”. We get to the terminal, encalm people inform wheelchair staff that we had pre booked a chair. He’s clueless (sic)."
"There’s wheelchairs everywhere. No staff because the flight is late. I grab a chair and wheel her to baggage claim, then out of the airport to the parking. Encalm lets air India know this is happening. No one shows. Anyway. One of your wheelchairs is on the second floor of the parking in Delhi. Do claim it. Cheers (sic)," he concluded.
As soon as Das shared the post, netizens replied to him with similar experiences with the airlines of late, and criticised Air India management for the poor service, despite being one of the oldest and biggest airlines.
The airlines later issued a statement apologising for the delay in their services. "The operating cabin crew offered to assist the guest, including deplaning by using the 'ambulift' assigned to the aircraft as per SOP, but the delay—not denial—in providing wheelchair assistance was due to unusually high demand for wheelchairs and staff at that time," the statement read.
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