A woman has claimed that poor hygiene on board an Akasa Air flight caused her serious health problems, prompting a response from the airline. The woman, identified as Jahanvi Tripathi, shared her experience on LinkedIn and claimed that her journey became stressful due to unsanitary seating conditions on the plane.
According to her post, Tripathi was traveling with friends on December 26 in an Akasa Air flight from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad that departed at 10.25 pm. She said she expected a routine and comfortable trip.
However, she claimed that the condition of the seats caused severe discomfort during the flight and subsequently led to health problems.
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“The unhygienic state of the seats was extremely disturbing and unacceptable. This issue not only caused severe discomfort during the flight, but also subsequently led to physical suffering that ultimately ruined my entire trip,” the woman’s LinkedIn post read in part.
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What health problems does she think she developed?
Tripathi further claimed that shortly after the flight, she developed a severe fungal infection on her feet, which worsened over time.
She claimed that the condition left her unable to walk properly, sleep comfortably or carry out daily activities.
“I am currently undergoing medical treatment and the ordeal has been physically and emotionally draining,” she wrote.
In her post, the woman expressed serious concerns about hygiene and hygiene standards during the flight. She suggested that the infection may have developed as a result of unclean seating, cabin conditions or general hygiene during the journey.
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It urged Akasa Air to investigate the issue, issue a clear response and explain the corrective measures taken to avoid similar incidents in the future.
How did Akasa Air respond?
In response to the allegations, Akasa Air expressed regret for its experience and said the matter was being reviewed.
“We sincerely regret this experience… This is certainly not the standard we strive for as we remain committed to maintaining the highest levels of hygiene and customer wellbeing. Your feedback has been shared for immediate consideration and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible,” the airline said.
Here’s how social media users reacted:
The incident drew mixed reactions on social media.
One user wrote: “Looks like a serious infection. Seats and entire cabin need a thorough inspection.”
However, several others defended the airline and disputed claims that the plane caused the infection.
“How can you be sure that you got infected from the plane and not from the cabin or any other reason of not being transported. I am completely empathetic to your problem and possibly poor hygiene in your seat. Still, I would say that gossiping is easy, investigating the real cause is difficult,” the comment read.
Another user pointed to airplane air filtration systems and said, “Aviation air is actually pretty clean with these HEPA filters and they change the air super fast so not much is flying around, including spores. Plus the cabins are super dry, which fungi hate, they love warm, humid places and airplanes are basically the opposite.”
