Elderly Couple Spend 24 Hrs At Istanbul Airport After IndiGo 'Forgets' To Take Them Along
An elderly couple, travelling from London to Mumbai, had the worst experience at the Istanbul airport as they were practically left stranded there.?
The couple had a Turkish Airlines flight from London to Istanbul and an IndiGo flight from Istanbul to Mumbai.?
However, their flight to Mumbai took off without them onboard, leading them to spend 24 hours at the Istanbul airport.?
What happened?
The couple in question is Rajesh Shah (64) and his wife Rashmi Shah (59).Rajesh Shah uses a wheelchair due to multiple strokes and surgeries. Rashmi Shah also cannot walk as long as required at airports and was thus using a wheelchair at the airport as well.?
They had a single PNR ticket for the journey on August 17, 2023.?After landing on schedule in Istanbul, the ground staff assisted them with their connecting flight to Mumbai.?
TOI quoted their Bengaluru-based daughter, Richa Shah, saying: "They were made to sit at a boarding gate with their boarding passes. When a few hours passed, my mother went to check at the counter regarding the flight status. The staff took the boarding passes from her and asked them to sit till further instructions. This kept happening repeatedly, and they were only told, 'my supervisor is on the way, you have to talk to him'."?
Subsequently, they were informed that their flight had departed to Mumbai. They panicked, and the local staff at the airport could not assist them as they only spoke Turkish.?
Had to spend 24 hours with limited assistance from staff?
Richa frantically tried to contact the IndiGo staff and could finally get in touch with someone on the IndiGo helpline in India.?
They were issued a boarding pass for a flight to Mumbai the next day.?
The elderly couple had to spend the entire night at the airport on chairs with limited food and drinks.?
How did the airline respond??
In a statement, IndiGo said it was a regrettable case of a human error with their Turkish Ground Handling Services.
IndiGo added, "We are aware of the incident of a mis-connection that happened at Istanbul airport with a senior couple travelling from London to Mumbai via Istanbul on August 17, 2023. This was a regrettable case of a human error with our Turkish Ground Handling Services, due to which the passengers missed their connecting flight to Mumbai. The IndiGo team at Istanbul extended assistance and provided them with the next available direct flight option. We have already taken up this incident to our partner airline and extend our sincere apologies to the affected passengers."
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