IndiGo staff manhandle passenger, airline apologises

New Delhi: A video showing an IndiGo staffer manhandling a passenger surfaced today 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. Another airline employee is seen restraining the traveller. As the passenger fought back, he fell to the ground.

It was not immediately known when the incident took place. IndiGo’s president and director Aditya Ghosh apologised for the incident and said stern action was taken against an airline staff for manhandling the passenger.

“I was standing in the shade of a plane when a ground staff started shouting at me in a very rude manner. I asked him why don’t you arrange the third bus for which we are waiting. Meanwhile, when the bus came, two people said let’s teach him a lesson and one of them pulled me out of the bus,” the passenger, identified as Rajeev Katiyal, told a telvision channel.

An IndiGo statemnet quoted Ghosh as saying that he had apologised to the passenger. “I acknowledge the unpleasant experience our passenger went through, while engaging with our staff at Delhi airport. My personal apologies as this does not reflect our culture. I had personally spoken to the passenger and asked for an apology,” a statement from IndiGo quoted Ghosh as saying.

Ghosh also said the airline held an inquiry and action was taken against the staff, without specifying what measure it took. “Any act that compromises the dignity of either is of a serious concern to us. Under the code of conduct violation, this incident was investigated and stern action was taken against the staff. Once again my personal and sincere apologies to the affected passenger,” the statement added.