10-year-old child sustains burns on Delhi-Frankfurt flight, family blames airline

A 10-year-old girl sustained second-degree burns after cabin crew spilled hot beverage on a Delhi-Frankfurt Vistara flight, her family has alleged. The incident happened on August 11.  The family has blamed the airline and the crew for the injury alleging it was the mistake of cabin crew who did not close the lid of a hot beverage which caused the burn injury. The crew said it was not entirely the mistake of the crew member and the child involved was playing which led to the spilling of the beverage. A heated argument between family and crew member went on for 40-50 minutes.   

Speaking to Republic, the 10-year-old child's parents said: "It was the negligence of the flight attendant. Our child Tara was not playful, it was the failure of the crew, they should have served the hot chocolate after closing the lid but they failed to do so and didn't even apologise at first but were continuously saying it was our daughters fault."

"The paramedics on board gave medicine and treated the injury, after landing we took our daughter to Sanaa Clinicum Offenbach Hospital where she was given morphine to cure the pain and irritation and burn marks as the injury on her left thigh was deep because of (the) burn and it has left marks. The behaviour of the flight crew was unprofessional."

Vistara airline, in an official statement, said: "We confirm an unfortunate incident occured onboard UK25 flying from Delhi to Frankfurt on 11 August 2023, where a child sustained injuries due to spillage of hot beverage on the body. Our cabin crew had served hot chocolate to the child on the request of her parents, however, the hot water spilled on her since the child was playful during the service. In line with the SOPs, our crew immediately provided first-aid as warranted for the spill, and sought support from a paramedic onboard, who volunteered to assist until the flight landed in Frankfurt."

"We also ensured medical care immediately upon landing by arranging an ambulance and the child, along with her mother, was sent to the hospital. Our teams have been in touch with the customer ever since. We have already facilitated their early return to India, arranged for ground transportation in Frankfurt, met them at the airport and extended extensive on-ground support."

"We have conveyed to the customer that all medical expenses arising from this incident will be reimbursed by us. We continue to discuss with the customer and provide any further assistance as required. We are also reviewing and refining our processes, wherever required, to ensure such situations are avoided in the future," the statement read.