JAIPUR: An 85-year-old woman, who is a US citizen and a native of Jodhpur, was denied a seat and stopped from taking it. Air India Flying from San Francisco to New Delhi with Connecting Flights Jodhpur on Monday.
The family claimed that Kamani Bhandari was issued a boarding pass after a security check. But when she was about to board the flight, Air India did not allow her to say, “We are overbooked and we have an unusable seat.” The woman is now waiting for another flight to go to Jodhpur.
The family also sought intervention from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) And this ministry of civil aviation, termed the action an “irresponsible decision” and said it deserved “accountability”.
On Tuesday, TOI spoke to the woman and her son to know about the incident.
“My mother Kamani Bhandari (85) was flying from San Francisco to New Delhi on Monday, which will depart at 8.30 pm and reach New Delhi at 1 pm on November 17. After I dropped her, she went through security checks and had a valid COVID negative report. He was given a boarding pass. However, minutes before boarding, she was turned down by airport officials, who said her bookings were overblown and the seats were unusable. My mother didn’t know and then she informed me,” said Sanjay Bhandari, an IT professional based in San Francisco.
“She is a US citizen and has OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card and was visiting our home town of Jodhpur,” he said.
He said that he requested the authorities to put him on any further flight, but he was given the option of flying to Delhi without onward flight from Jodhpur. “Who is responsible for this? I have tweeted and tagged the PMO and the civil aviation ministry,” he said.
Sanjay said they were hoping that the airlines would come up with a viable option to enable him to fly to Jodhpur. “She is waiting. Despite all these obstacles, we are hopeful that they will provide us with a viable alternative,” he said.
“I had no idea what had happened. My son came to the airport and I heaved a sigh of relief,” said Kamani Bhandari.
American Green Card holder Prem Bhandari, who helps NRIs and Indians stranded in different countries with various problems, said, “This is condemnable. Action should be taken against those responsible for such negligence.”
When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said, “The flight was full and one seat was unusable. We requested if anyone can postpone their journey as the flight was overbooked and one seat was not serviceable. Another arrangement was offered to her with the consent of her son. Air India’s airport manager in San Francisco facilitated the passenger to get another flight on a different airline, which was scheduled to depart on Tuesday evening. However, since Air India does not have a daily flight to Jodhpur, we are trying to make an alternate and comfortable arrangement for that at the earliest. Also, as per US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, we are paying them $1,550 for this inconvenience.
The family claimed that Kamani Bhandari was issued a boarding pass after a security check. But when she was about to board the flight, Air India did not allow her to say, “We are overbooked and we have an unusable seat.” The woman is now waiting for another flight to go to Jodhpur.
The family also sought intervention from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) And this ministry of civil aviation, termed the action an “irresponsible decision” and said it deserved “accountability”.
On Tuesday, TOI spoke to the woman and her son to know about the incident.
“My mother Kamani Bhandari (85) was flying from San Francisco to New Delhi on Monday, which will depart at 8.30 pm and reach New Delhi at 1 pm on November 17. After I dropped her, she went through security checks and had a valid COVID negative report. He was given a boarding pass. However, minutes before boarding, she was turned down by airport officials, who said her bookings were overblown and the seats were unusable. My mother didn’t know and then she informed me,” said Sanjay Bhandari, an IT professional based in San Francisco.
“She is a US citizen and has OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card and was visiting our home town of Jodhpur,” he said.
He said that he requested the authorities to put him on any further flight, but he was given the option of flying to Delhi without onward flight from Jodhpur. “Who is responsible for this? I have tweeted and tagged the PMO and the civil aviation ministry,” he said.
Sanjay said they were hoping that the airlines would come up with a viable option to enable him to fly to Jodhpur. “She is waiting. Despite all these obstacles, we are hopeful that they will provide us with a viable alternative,” he said.
“I had no idea what had happened. My son came to the airport and I heaved a sigh of relief,” said Kamani Bhandari.
American Green Card holder Prem Bhandari, who helps NRIs and Indians stranded in different countries with various problems, said, “This is condemnable. Action should be taken against those responsible for such negligence.”
When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said, “The flight was full and one seat was unusable. We requested if anyone can postpone their journey as the flight was overbooked and one seat was not serviceable. Another arrangement was offered to her with the consent of her son. Air India’s airport manager in San Francisco facilitated the passenger to get another flight on a different airline, which was scheduled to depart on Tuesday evening. However, since Air India does not have a daily flight to Jodhpur, we are trying to make an alternate and comfortable arrangement for that at the earliest. Also, as per US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, we are paying them $1,550 for this inconvenience.
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