After 82-year old passenger falls due to wheelchair delays, Air India says she arrived late at Delhi airport

Air India passenger suffers brain stroke after wheelchair delay, highlighting challenges in airport accessibility and passenger assistance.

An 82-year old Air India passenger who fell and suffered a brain stroke after struggling to get a wheelchair, arrived at Delhi airport along with her family “later than the recommended two hours before departure”, the airline said on Saturday (March 8, 2025).

The airline’s statement comes a day after the 82-year old Raj Pasricha’s family accused Air India of failing to provide a wheelchair on time despite prior booking for such special services.

“The said passenger, travelling with her family members, had arrived at the departure terminal much later than the recommended two hours before departure,” Air India said in a press statement. It added that the injured passenger’s family reported at the desk for persons with reduced mobility, situated outside the passenger building, less than 90 minutes before the scheduled time of departure, to request for a wheelchair.

Check-in for domestic passengers closes 60 minutes before the time of departure, but because of long queues at the entry gate and check-in counters, passengers are advised to arrive earlier.

Ms. Pasricha and her family were booked on a 5 p.m. flight to Bengaluru and reached the assistance desk at around 3:30 p.m., where they waited for 15 to 20 minutes with no wheelchair in sight. With the closing time for check-in approaching, they then decided to proceed towards the counters. That is when the senior citizen fell “face flat” and sustained head and facial injuries, including a bleeding nose, and a cut on her upper lip and tongue.

The family sought first aid at the airport after which the airline offered a wheelchair and fast-track boarding. As the passenger continued to bleed through her journey, she was extended additional medical assistance at Bengaluru airport, where stitches were also administered.

The octogenarian has been in the ICU at the IAF’s Command Hospital in Bengaluru since March 5, after suffering a brain stroke.