TRAUMA SUFFERED BY TWO SENIOR CITIZENS & 9-YEAR GIRL
OFFLOADED LATE NIGHT BY SPICE JET
IN FOREIGN LAND
Passenger Details
Pradeep Kumar Maheshwari M 67
Manjula Maheshwari F 62
Aruna Maheshwari F 9
Flight Details
Spicejet SG 46 / PNR Z8LTMJ
From: Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu Nepal
To: IGI Airport New Delhi India
Date of Journey: 8 November 2014
Scheduled Departure Time: 1850 hours (local time)
Delayed departure time announced after Check In/Security Clearance: 2050 hours (local time)
Shocking Behaviour After security clearance -- and a wait of 5 hours due to flight delay (cause unknown) -- we finally boarded the aircraft at 8.30 pm or so.
We duly took our allotted seats -- 13 D, 13 E and 13 F -- as per our Boarding Cards issued at the Spicejet counter at Kathmandu airport. Waiting for the flight to take off, we were in our seats -- with seat-belts on.
We were totally exhausted after the long wait. The child wanted to sleep, so she was in the middle seat with her legs on my lap and her head on my wife Manjula’s. I too had nodded off being tired -- and as I usually go to sleep by 9 pm.
But suddenly I was jolted awake -- to find that the Flight Attendant / Stewardess had hit my foot with considerable force, though the aisle of the aircraft was clear of passengers and the aircraft lights inside were all turned on.
Startled by the hard jolt from the Flight Attendant/Stewardess I was rubbing the sleep out of my eyes -- when that Flight Attendant/Stewardess started shouting at me that I was keeping my foot out on the aisle.
I explained to her how my foot may have slipped out from the cramped seat, with my daughter’s leg on my lap -- and how I too was tired and nearly asleep due to the late departure of the flight.
But the Flight Attendant/Stewardess went on ranting, and would not listen to me -- which led to me having some sharp exchange of words about the harassment due to delay.This made the Flight Attendant/Stewardess flare up even more. Then she said, "I am reporting you for misbehavior" -- and went away.
My wife followed her and tried to talk to her. She would not listen to anything. I too apologized for upsetting her. But she kept on saying that "I am not a child and I don’t want to talk to you -- and that I have been insulted in front of 180 people."
So I said, "I shall apologize publicly in front of all the 180 people and touch your feet even. Please do not make an issue of it, as I was asleep."
She asked me to go and sit down, and that there was no question of forgiving.
Offloaded
Soon a Ground Staff person (Mr Saroj as we later found out) came aboard. He was in a rage and orderd us to get down from the aircraft.
Else, he said, he would call the police to arrest me.
Terrorised by the threat, I kept on explaining that we have a child with us and they should at least listen to us. But to no avail. His anger was uncontrollable.
Threatened with arrest in a foreign country -- that at late night -- all three of us were forced off the aircraft.
Later on, when he (Mr Saroj) had calmed a bit, I explained my side of the story. He then said OFFLOADING was the pilot’s decision, and he could not do anything about it.
False Charge
However, during the entire episode we did not get to see or hear anything from the flight pilot in-charge or his co-pilot.
On the other hand, a totally false report was made in writing by the Spicejet Flight Attendant Stewardess -- in the Airlines register. The report stated that I had slapped the stewardess.
This was a blatant lie -- and impossible as we were sitting with seat-belts on. Moreover, the condition I was in, after the physcially and mentally tiring wait at the airport, I could barely keep awake -- much less get up and do any physical threat.
Our family was OFFLOADED and had to wait till our baggage was located and OFFLOADED too. In the biting cold at 11 pm (local time) we were escorted out of the airport -- with a 9-year-old girl terrorized and crying.
We had no resources, in a foreign country -- and with no local currency.
Trauma Suffered
Somehow we managed a taxi at an exorbitant rate, and reached Sri Aurobindo Yoga Mandir where Guruji took us in and paid for the taxi.
Next day -- Sunday -- we were still in shock and ttotally traumatised by what had happened.
We tried to find another flight within a day or two -- but there was no ticket available for less than Rs 26, 000 each (Indian currrency). It was simply not possible for us to afford.
30-hour Bus Ride to Delhi
Finally, we managed to reach home on Tuesday (November 11) by bus -- after a grueling ride lasting 30 hours.
Our 9-year-old daughter became very ill during the bus journey. My wife and I too (both 60+) have been severely affected.
All three of us are yet to recover from the shocking time we had.
Callous Spicejet
The attitude of the Spicjet staff was totally arbitrary, cruel. The pilot of Spicejet flight SG-46 did not even even come t the passenger cabin to find out the truth. We never saw him. We were judged without ado and thrown out into the cold.
The shame, trauma and terror of that night has shattered us -- not forgetting the next three days of physical and mental stress.
I demand an Answer-Apology-Compensation from the Spicejet management for the following reasons:
-- showing little or no regard for two senior citizens and a small 9-year-old girl being arbitrarily offloaded on the mere tantrum of a Flight Attendant;
-- the pilot who took the decision to OFFLOAD being grossly judgmental and irresponsible; &
-- the Spicejet ground staff wilfully ignoring our despeate pleas but taking the word of the stewardess as gospel truth.
I have been been taking commercial flights -- national and international -- for more than 36 years.
This unprofessional behaviour on part of the crew of SG-45, and the staff at Kathmandu airport, is just not acceptable.
Making the customer a scapegoat for your lack of grace is unheard of.
Spicejet must compensate us in every possible way for the ordeal -- and ensure the offenders are taken to task so that no customer is ever put to such trauma.