No matter what the circumstances are, cabin crew and pilots alike are trained to be polite, cordial and helpful to fellow passengers.?However, it seems like a few 'rotten apples' are out to spoil the reputation of the rest, with their distasteful conduct.?
More recently, a Twitter user opened up about a shocking incident that happened to her and her 75-year-old mother.?
In a series of tweets, Supriya Unni Nair, a passenger who was travelling on a flight from Chennai to Bengaluru posted about her harrowing experience with the aircraft pilot.?
Raising the matter on Twitter, Nair wrote, '@IndiGo6E Your captain on 6E 806 from Chennai to Bangalore on January 13 Jayakrishna harassed, threatened and prevented me and my 75-year old diabetic mom from disembarking the flight?and?threatened to arrest us because we asked for wheelchair assistance'.
"I always ask for wheelchair beforehand for my mom and remind?staff when we land. Staff on?all airlines have always been helpful. Our flight was late & when we landed?at 9:15 I tried calling the assistance bell & when the crew didn't respond?I?walked up for help," Nair said.?
She added, 'We don't have access to a wheelchair when it was clearly printed on the ticket. When I pointed this out to her, the captain came barging out and yells at me for pressing the assistance button and annoying him and his crew. "How dare you call her Veena?" he asks. (FYI her name tag says Veena). Taken aback, I tell him not to yell at me and then the threats start. The wheelchair guys arrive and he points at mom and says you're not going anywhere'.?
That was not all. Supriya continued, 'He prevents the wheelchair people from taking my mom out of the aircraft threatening us that he will ensure we are detained and spend a night in jail. 'Disbelievingly I ask him whether he is serious? Shut up . Who do you think I am? I'll get my CEO to make sure you spend a night in jail, "we" will teach you some manners, he says', Nair wrote on Twitter.?
'My mom in the meanwhile is worried as he is so aggressive that he looks like he will get physically abusive with me and says please don't be rude like that, to which he says he is the captain, his job is to fly the plane here and not be polite to mere passengers', Supriya wrote.?
"You have paid piddly 2000 rupees you don't own the aircraft he adds. I will make sure you are barred from the skies he yells my mom and me," Nair said explaining how the captain threatened them.
It was more than just disbelief for Supriya and her mother to see the pilot raging out so unnaturally. Fearing dire consequences, Supriya's mother told her to calm down and not engage in any more verbal exchange.?
While the fight was going on, none of the passengers onboard bothered to step forward. But the?CISF security and Indigo ground staff did everything possible to shield Supriya and her mother and repeatedly apologised for what they went through.?
Supriya went on to explain that the pilot's behaviour caught her off guard and at the time, she was so tensed that filming the incident completely slipped her mind.?
In the series of tweets, she shared that her mother was shaking even after getting home and was scared by the pilot's threats.?
Thankfully, soon after Supriya tweets did the rounds online,?Aviation minister, Hardeep Singh, promised to take down the misbehaving pilot with a heavy hand.?
Hardeep Singh Puri said, "I requested my office to contact @IndiGo6E as soon as I saw the tweet by Ms @SupriyaUnniNair about the pilot's behaviour with her & her 75-year-old mother in need of wheelchair assistance. The airline has informed @MoCA_GoI that the pilot has been off-rostered pending full enquiry."
While for now, the pilot in question has been taken 'off roster', his behaviour was atrocious and deserving of strict action. His rage has literally scarred a 75-year-old woman and according to reports, the pilot has had a reputation of being short-tempered.?
Indigo also issued an online statement apologizing to Supriya and her mother for what they had to face, and said that an 'internal review & necessary action will be taken'. They also said that their 'team is in touch with the customer to ensure her concern is understood well & to help avoid such experiences in future'.