Suvarna Raj, a medal winning Indian para athlete has claimed that she was not allowed to enter an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Udaipur.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when the flight attendants told her there was “not enough time to scan her wheelchair” and it’s “not their fault that she was wheelchair bound.”
Suvarna Raj spoke to a news channel and said, “I reached the domestic terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport at 12.45 P.M., The boarding time was 1.25 P.M., It takes just five minutes to scan the wheelchair, but here I faced a long delay.”
She said, “While other passengers boarded the plane, I was denied entry. I explained to them about how important it was for me to go. However, the officials said that it was not their fault that I’m wheelchair bound. They told me my wheelchair had to be scanned and there was no time for that.”
In the year 2013, Suvarna Raj won two medals at the Thailand Para Table Tennis Open and was awarded the National Women Excellence Award.
Suvarna also added that she has never experienced this at international airports. In a sad tone, the athlete said, “Most of the time I have to face such discrimination in my own country.”
The head of corporate communications at IndiGo, Ajay Jasra said, “Ms. Raj missed her flight 6E 751, DEL-UDR, on Tuesday as she reported late to the airport at 12.54 p.m. The counter closed at 12.44 p.m. Since she is a para athlete, IndiGo booked her on another flight at no additional cost. She seemed very happy and even clicked a selfie with us when we provided her the alternate flight.”
