In Yet Another Incident, Physically Challenged Artist Denied Boarding By Alliance Air Due To Battery-Operated Wheelchair

Sarita Dwivedi, an award-winning physically challenged artist, was said to have been prohibited from boarding a flight recently on June 18 because the airlines refused to fly her motorised wheelchair. She was denied boarding by the Alliance Air flight from Bengaluru to Kochi from the Kempegowda International Airport.

The airline had provided her with two options either to leave behind her battery-operated wheelchair or book another flight on a different airline, as reported by the Times of India. Alliance Air has not yet issued a statement on the incident.

Mistreatment By Airline

Dwivedi said that she had not been refunded the amount of nearly Rs 8,000 that she had spent on tickets for her and her friend, who had come all the way from Kochi to Bengaluru to take her there. She also had to pay around Rs 14,000 for tickets from another private airline that agreed to carry her wheelchair without hesitation.

Worst day of my life .It was 4 kind of harassment in 1 day,Mentally, emotionally ,physically and financially .No refund till now also the staff was harsh,inconsiderate and did not value my time or money .@JM_Scindia @allianceair #RPWD Act @socialpwds @DGCAIndia @timesofindia pic.twitter.com/FZSDck0ulU

— Sarita Dwivedi (@SARITADWIVEDI7) June 20, 2022

She has also accused a staff member of Alliance Air of being hostile towards her. She said that what transpired at the airline's counter at the airport was a very bad experience. She wasn't sure if she was going to sue the airlines for their behaviour yet.

Dwivedi detailed her experience, saying that she reached the airport right on time, and the ground staff insisted that she was late for boarding as she was a wheelchair-bound flyer and that she should have come earlier. When she explained that there were 55 minutes left for taking off, they suddenly said that she could board, but her wheelchair couldn't fly with her, she alleged.

According to the artist, the airline official also alleged that there are certain guidelines against carrying the wheelchair along, that these guidelines are there with every airline, and that she either had to leave it behind or she couldn't fly.

Holding The Airline Accountable

Dwivedi had tweeted this incident, tagging Jyotiradita Scindia, the Union Civil Aviation Minister. She had also asked the airlines if they could ship the wheelchair to Kochi, and that way she could travel without it, but they allegedly refused to do anything. As she was not from Bengaluru, it was more worrisome for her; she added, "I am a humble person. I did not want to argue, so I asked them what they can do to help me," as reported by Mint.

@JM_Scindia Dear Sir, Need help regarding @allianceair behaviour. I am Divyang travel with my Motorized Wheelchair but stuck at Bangalore airport since @allianceair not allowing me to board in my flight alongwith my wheelchair. Missed my flight. #RPWD Act 2016 pic.twitter.com/GGvTJqZXMT

— Sarita Dwivedi (@SARITADWIVEDI7) June 18, 2022

She said that the Airlines explained that they couldn't do anything except refund the amount of around Rs 8,000, but they haven't done that yet either. She was travelling with Alliance Air for the first time and tried explaining to them that she was a frequent flyer and never had these issues. After facing a lot of issues and having to wait without any clear response from the airlines at the check-in counter, she did get some assistance from personnel of the Airports Authority of India.

Frequent Flyer

Dwivedi is a frequent flyer on other airlines and said that she has never faced any issues like this before on any other airlines. Her second flight, with IndiGo airlines, was scheduled after three hours after the first Alliance Air flight. She had come to Bengaluru from Kanpur on an IndiGo flight, too, with her motorised wheelchair.

She said that they didn't create any issues for her and had great service. "My wheelchair has a dry battery. The rule is that you cannot travel with a wet battery on an airline," she added and explained that she simply removed the battery supply, and the airline put the wheelchair in the baggage.

The 31-year-old artist, who paints using her mouth, lost her hands and a leg in 1994 when she was only four years old after she came in contact with a high-power electric line by accident. The talented painter has been praised and won accolades and prizes on a national and international level. She is also an Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALMCI) employee, and her achievements have also been written in the NCERT Hindi textbook for Class 6.

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