Octogenarian, forced to walk due to lack of wheelchairs at Mumbai airport, suffers heart attack, dies

An 80-year-old man was not provided with a wheelchair at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday (Feb 12) after which he suffered a heart attack and collapsed.

The octogenarian had arrived from New York on an Air India flight and the couple had already requested for wheelchairs.

The lack of the availability of a wheelchair forced the octogenarian to walk around 1.5 km from the plane to the immigration counter, during which he collapsed.

The wheelchairs were pre-booked by the couple, however, only the wife received one, as per a report by The Times Of India. The husband was walking alongside his wife and by the time they reached the immigration counter, the man collapsed because of a heart attack.

Wheelchair shortage took man's life?

A report published in the The Times Of India, quoting unnamed sources, said, “Due to a shortage, only one wheelchair assistant showed up for the couple. The wife sat in the wheelchair, while the husband decided to follow her and walked alongside. He must have walked about 1.5 km to reach the immigration area where he suddenly collapsed due to a heart attack. He was taken to the Mumbai airport medical facility and from there rushed to Nanavati hospital.”

The deceased, who was identified as an Indian-origin US passport holder, had travelled from New York to Mumbai in economy class on Air India flight AI-116.

According to an airport source, quoted in TOI, “There were 32 wheelchair passengers on this flight, but only 15 wheelchairs with accompanying staff were on the ground to help them.”

Meanwhile, an Air India spokesperson said, “One of our guests flying from New York to Mumbai on 12th February fell ill while proceeding to clear immigration with his wife, who was in a wheelchair. Due to heavy demand for wheelchairs, we had requested the passenger to wait till he was also provided with wheelchair assistance but he opted to walk along with his spouse. As advised by the airport doctor attending to him after taking ill, the passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was declared to have passed away."

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He added that Air India has constantly been in touch with family members and is trying their best to provide any required assistance.

Speaking to The Times Of India, a ground staff said, “We've often found that aged couples aren't comfortable parting with the spouse and travelling alone from the aircraft to the airport terminal. Those with mobility issues, hearing problems prefer to stay with each other when moving from the aircraft through the terminal building.”

The flight was scheduled to land in Mumbai at 11:30 am (local time), but there was a delay and it landed at 2:10 pm (local time).

(With inputs from agencies)