Air India reacts after video of woman suffering panic attack at Delhi airport goes viral

An elderly woman had a panic attack inside Delhi airport after Air India refused to let her board her flight, her nephew has alleged in a video going viral on Instagram today.

Further, her nephew also alleged that the staff called security and forced the heart and diabetes patient out of the airport instead of calling for medical assistance. Business Today has not been able to independently verify the date or accuracy of the viral video.

Reacting to the incident, Air India released an official statement saying that the video is "conveying a misleading image of Air India being apathetic towards a passenger, who is seen lying near the gate."

Air India's comments come after the video, shot on the mobile phone, showed that a middle-aged woman was seen lying on the floor, breathing heavily, near the boarding gates of the Delhi airport. The relatives of the woman, who were travelling with her, alleged that she was not provided any immediate medical assistance.

As per the Instagram post, when the woman and her family cleared security, they told Air India staff that they would reach the boarding gate in five minutes as they had a heart and diabetes patient with them. Still, the gates were closed for them, as per their account.

As the woman's son had a final exam the same day, she suffered a panic attack and fainted. She was asked to leave the airport instead of being offered medical assistance, as per the nephew's account.

However, denying the reports, Air India said, "We would like to inform that for Air India comfort, safety and on-time travel of every passenger is paramount," adding, "After seeing one of them lying on the floor near the gate, a Doctor & a CISF personnel were called immediately by our staff to help her, but the passenger started feeling better when the doctor arrived on the spot & declined any medical or wheelchair assistance."

"Air India always accords top priority to passenger safety and comfort. However, as a responsible airline, we have to adhere to strictures laid down by the regulatory authorities and in any case, we could not delay the flight especially when all passengers had boarded on-time. We hope this clears the air on the above issue," the statement added.