Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has joined the ongoing debate about the growing demand for wheelchair assistance at airports. She was reacting to a viral video that showed Indian passengers in a long queue for wheelchair assistance at the airport.
The video alleged that Indian passengers, especially on flights between India and the US, were abusing the wheelchair service for priority access at airports.
Viral video of Indians on wheelchair at airport
The viral video is said to be from Chinese user X. It showed a long line of passengers, apparently Indians, sitting on wheelchairs. Airport employees help them. The original post also claimed that Indian passengers are looking for wheelchair assistance to enjoy priority services like early boarding, end-to-end support. Indicating that the service is usually used by Indian fliers, a post in Chinese, according to the Hindustan Times, read: “The departure hall on routes between the US and India is full of Indians in wheelchairs. Because disabled passengers have priority boarding and full-service transportation, the proportion of disabled passengers on some routes is as high as 80 percent.”
The same clip was later shared by another user on the microblogging site. According to the popular airline Air India, which has now gone viral in India, it claimed that about 30% of passengers opt for wheelchair assistance on flights from India to the US.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw reacts to viral video of Indians using wheelchair at airport
“Air India claims that 30% of passengers on flights from India to the US request wheelchairs. Most of them are able-bodied passengers who cheat the priority boarding system. Truly disabled passengers will not be accommodated,” the post read.
In response, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw offered a solution. After the video was reposted, she suggested that airlines start charging to prevent abuse. “They should charge extra ₹5,000 to the airport, then they will see how many actual passengers there are,” Shaw wrote.
Netizens react to Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s post
Her post drew mixed reactions from netizens.
A user wrote to her in the comments: “It’s not about walking, it’s about the process. Most Indian parents don’t know English and don’t know where to go to get their kids to book a wheelchair so they can go through security, terminal exchange and baggage claim without stress. Look all the people above are old (sic).”
“It’s loving kids in the US and India who organize it for their parents so they don’t have to deal with moving. The chair is for the disabled. Some are elderly parents with real problems. But most are fit. But when do the rules get in the way?! Disability is just a word! And it’s only $100. Maybe, but parents could say, ‘this is just shameful, 5, can’t go shame and unused.’ general attitude (sic),” he added another one.
Another commented: “The only reason it’s free now is because you can’t charge genuinely disabled people for wheelchairs and make air travel more expensive for them permanently. The solution has to be at the level of discrimination.”
