Ahmedabad: After spending nearly nine hours in the air from Frankfurt, Falguni Maheshwari, a Bhuj native and postgraduate student of environment sustainability in Germany, believed the most challenging part of her long journey home was behind her. However, a series of unexpected events turned her travel into an ordeal.
The Incident at Delhi Airport
Maheshwari, who is wheelchair-dependent due to a disability, landed in Delhi on May 27 aboard an Air India flight. She had a connecting flight to Bhuj, also with Air India, and expected to reach home soon. But Air India officials at Delhi airport deplaned her, demanding a fit-to-fly certificate—a document she claimed the airline never requested at Frankfurt. After being removed from the aircraft, she managed to book a Delhi-Ahmedabad flight at 8:30 pm with the same carrier.
Struggle to Obtain the Certificate
Maheshwari told TOI that she had already boarded the connecting 3 pm flight and hoped to rest after the strenuous long-haul journey. Airline officials refused to accept the documents she had used to fly from Germany. “I was asked to leave the aircraft. The airline staff repeatedly asked for a fit-to-fly certificate,” she said. Despite providing disability certificates from German and Indian authorities, she was forced to disembark around 4 pm.
Alone, exhausted, and in pain, Maheshwari had to think of alternatives. Her family in Gujarat scrambled to help. They contacted their family doctor in Bhuj, who issued a fit-to-fly certificate and emailed a soft copy. With this, she boarded the 8:30 pm flight to Ahmedabad.
Aftermath and Damaged Wheelchair
After landing in Ahmedabad around 10:30 pm, she traveled to Bhuj by car the next morning, still exhausted and in pain. “I have traveled internationally before and never encountered such a situation,” she said. To add to her distress, her wheelchair was damaged during the journey when a component went missing, as per her social media post.
Queries sent to Air India regarding the incident went unanswered.
