A screenshot of the video posted on YouTube (Courtesy: Abhijit Patil/YouTube) A screenshot of the video posted on YouTube (Courtesy: Abhijit Patil/YouTube)

A video showing a passenger, due to give her exam the following day, pleading with Air India staffers as they refuse to allow her to board the flight as she was five minutes late, has gone viral. The passenger who arrived at the T2 international terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) for a Mumbai-Delhi flight can be seen justifying her reason for late check-in by saying that “they had received wrong information from a travel website’s message”.

The video taken by another passenger Shivendra Namdeo was uploaded on his Facebook page on February 14. According to Air India spokesperson, the incident took place last week and they haven’t been able to find out which flight it was. The video had managed to get over 8,77,686 views and 35,854 shares till Tuesday evening.

Air India spokesperson from New Delhi on Tuesday said, “It’s clearly seen in the video that our staff has told the girl that we would try to accommodate on the next flight but we cannot allow her on this flight.”

Meanwhile, the official Twitter handle of Air India on Tuesday afternoon read, “Air India is distressed at the video on social media showing its airport staff in poor light. The matter is being examined and we request our patrons to review details on the ticket and any update communicated to them.”

Namdeo’s post on his Facebook page reads: “Even though people are in 55 minutes before departure, they are not allowed to enter. One person has her mother in the ICU and in danger of losing her life. Sadly even though there is enough time, Air India doesn’t allow them to board. The girl was begging them to allow her to board as she had an exam, the following day.”

According to norms at Mumbai airport for Air India flights, check-in for passengers on international flights or flights that are a part of the domestic leg of an international flight from T2 terminal halts 60 minutes before the departure of the flight. For domestic flights from T1 terminal, the check-in counter is closed 45 minutes before the departure of the flight.

Meanwhile, Air India staffers in Mumbai said they were simply following rules. “There are 180 passengers on board, and if the flight is delayed, some of them will miss their connecting flight. There are rules in place for a reason and it is difficult for us to make exceptions. Everyday, there are passengers who arrive late and are not allowed to board.”

Newsline attempts to reach Namdeo or the girl in the video failed.

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