Indigo Asks Doctor To Deboard For Cribbing About Mosquitoes

IndiGo has entangled itself in yet another controversy after a doctor on Monday posted a video blaming the airline staff of manhandling and offloading him.

The doctor identified as Dr Saurabh Rai, a Bengaluru-based cardiologist, was to travel from Lucknow to Bengaluru. Once he boarded the flight, Rai complained about the mosquitoes to the crew who asked him to be patient as the problem would be addressed. But soon, things escalated and the flight crew asked him to leave the aircraft after finding Rai instigating fellow passengers and using words like “hijack". Notably, the matter happened on Monday but came to light today after Rai's video went viral.

"They called me a terrorist and said that I was a threat to other passengers,” he said in the video.

Realizing things going against the airlines, IndiGo issued a statement which reads, "Mr Saurabh Rai, who was scheduled to fly this morning on 6E-541 from Lucknow to Bangalore, was offloaded on grounds of unruly behaviour. Prior to take-off, Mr Rai expressed concerns regarding mosquitoes on board. However, before the cabin crew on board could address his concerns, Mr Rai aggressively expressed his annoyance and started to use threatening language.”

It further reads, “As the matter escalated after the closure of the aircraft doors, Mr Rai attempted to instigate other passengers on board to damage the aircraft, and used words such as ‘hijack’. Such actions are absolutely unacceptable, and there is zero tolerance for such threatening language on board an aircraft. Hence, keeping in mind safety protocols, the crew apprised the pilot-in-command, who decided to offload Mr Rai from the flight. Customer satisfaction is core to our business.”

However, IndiGo’s statement only backfired as other passengers started complaining about the airline, forcing it to tender an apology.

IndiGo has witness a spate of such incidents. Last year, IndiGO drew outrage after a video showed an airline staffer manhandled a passenger following which the airline apologised for the incident and said stern action has been taken against the erring employee. In the video, a passenger is first seen being stopped from entering a coach, then pulled back by a ground staff member. Another airline employee is seen restraining the traveller. As the passenger fought back, he fell to the ground.