In a tragic incident, an 80-year-old Air India passenger died at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Friday while walking from the aircraft to the terminal instead of waiting for a wheelchair.
It has been reported that the passenger, who flew from New York, sought assistance but the airport failed to provide him with a wheelchair due to heavy demand.
What did Air India say?
Issuing an official statement, the airline said that the passenger's wife had been provided a wheelchair and staff had asked him to wait while they arranged another one. But he instead chose to walk to the terminal with his wife.
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"One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse," Air India said.
It has been reported that following the collapse, the airport's medical team promptly sprang into action and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was, unfortunately, declared dead.
"As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away," the airline said.
