Air India Under Fire After 82-Year-Old Falls at Delhi Airport, Lands in ICU; Airline Responds

New Delhi: Air India is back in the news for all the wrong reasons this time for denying a wheelchair to an elderly woman that made her suffer big time. The old lady who attempted to walk without wheel chair collapsed and suffered serious injuries.

Air India Denied Wheel Chair to Elderly Woman  

A distressing incident has surfaced on social media shows how an 82-year-old woman fell at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after being denied a pre-booked wheelchair by Air India. 

The elderly woman, identified as Raj Pasricha, is now in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) under observation for potential brain bleeds.

Matter in Detail
The incident occurred on March 4, 2025, when Raj Pasricha, the widow of a decorated Lieutenant General, was scheduled to fly from Delhi to Bengaluru. Despite having pre-booked a wheelchair with Air India, Pasricha was left waiting for over an hour at Terminal 3 (T3) of the IGI airport. With no assistance provided, she attempted to walk with the support of a family member but collapsed near the airline's premium economy counter.

Family's Allegations
Pasricha's granddaughter, Parul Kanwar, took to social media platform X sharing the details of the incident. She alleged that no first aid was offered at the airport and that her grandmother was allowed to board the flight with a bleeding lip and head injuries. Kanwar expressed her frustration, stating, "You treated my grandmother so poorly, and with such little regard. You should be ashamed."

Kanwar recounted how the family had booked the wheelchair well in advance, but despite repeated requests to Air India staff, the airport help desk, and even alternative airline staff, no wheelchair was arranged. "With no other option, this old lady slowly made her way across three parking lanes at T3 New Delhi, on foot with assistance from a family member. She managed to enter the airport on foot, still no wheelchair or assistance was provided. Ultimately, her legs gave way, and she fell - she fell in front of the Air India premium economy counter. Not one person stepped in to help," Kanwar wrote. 

Air India's Response
In response to the incident, Air India expressed concern and wished Pasricha a speedy recovery. The airline stated “Dear Ms. Kanwar, we sincerely wish your grandmother a speedy recovery. We are actively working on the concern and assure you that we will share the complete details at the earliest..”

The airline's response, however, doesn't seem satisfactory. Many have taken to social media to condemn the airline's actions and demand accountability. One user wrote, “This is regular practice of not serving a wheelchair. Even Mumbai International airport has the same things going on. Air India will not change their habits.”

Another user said, “I remember when my parents needed wheel chair assistance. Indira Gandhi international airport. My brother called at the designated wheelchair counter for wheelchair, and the person answered said it'll be here shortly. After waiting 20 mins, he called again and no one picked.”

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“Even after 14 hours you are unable to check and respond. Are you trying to find evidence in Harappa?” said one more.

This is not the first time Air India has been in the news for any wrong reason; recently, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan slammed the airline for allotting him a broken passenger seat. Chouhan was on a Bhopal-Delhi flight. He criticised Air India for its broken seats, worst staff, and pathetic behaviour.

Air India Issued Statement

Meanwhile Air India released a statement on this incident, “There are allegations on media platforms that an elderly lady suffered grievous injuries at the Delhi airport on account of Air India. While we fully empathise with the lady and wish her a swift recovery, we would like to state the following based on our investigation:

The said passenger, travelling with her family members, had arrived at the departure terminal much later than the recommended 2 hours before departure.

Family members/relatives accompanying the passenger had reported at the PRM(Person with Reduced Mobility) desk located near Air India's ticketing office less than 90 minutes before the scheduled time of departure to request for a wheelchair.

Due to the unprecedented peak demand at that hour, a wheelchair could not be made available within the 15 minutes that the passenger’s relatives spent waiting for it. The claims of the passenger having waited for an hour for the wheelchair are baseless.

On their own accord, the passenger decided to walk along with those accompanying her. She unfortunately suffered a fall in the airport premises. Upon noticing the incident, officials of the Delhi Airport, as well as the airport doctor on duty immediately attended to her and administered first aid.

We understand that the doctor's offer for additional medical attention was not accepted and the guest's family members insisted on continuing their travel to Bengaluru. Through this process, Air India staff were courteous, escorted them from immediate check-in through to priority security check and boarding. The passenger was also provided all possible care during the flight from Delhi to Bengaluru.

Upon reaching Bengaluru, as requested by the family members, the guest was escorted by our staff for further medical attention in the Bengaluru Airport premises, and later also escorted until the drop-off point.

At no point was the wheelchair or any assistance denied to the passenger. Air India’s staff cooperated with the guests through their journey. We have reached out to the guest’s family and pray for her wellbeing.” an Air India Spokesperson.