Thalassemic boy disallowed by SpiceJet to travel on flight

Ahmedabad: A 12-year-old boy, suffering from thalassemia, a blood disorder, was not allowed to travel on SpiceJet flight from Ahmedabad to Chennai on the ground that he was unfit to fly, his father alleged on Saturday.

However, an official of the private airline said it had only followed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms in this regard.

“Jignesh, my 12-year-old son, was not allowed to travel on SpiceJet flight on October 16, as the airline officials denied us the boarding pass saying that my son is not fit enough to travel,” said Kalu Antroliya, a resident of Kadegi village in Kutiyana tehsil of Porbandar district.

He said he was taking his son, who suffers from thalassemia major, to a hospital in Vellore in Tamil Nadu for treatment, but the airline did not allow them to board.

According to Antroliya, the SpiceJet officials first asked for a medical certificate, which he obtained from a local physician.

“However, when I e-mailed the certificate, they refused to accept it saying it doesn’t mention that Jignesh is fit to fly,” he added.

SpiceJet did not refund the ticket price of Rs 30,000 too, he alleged.

However, the airline official here defended the action saying it was only implementing the norms laid down by DGCA.

“The boy was not carrying ‘fit to fly’ certificate….If he was not fit to fly as per the DGCA norms, how can we allow him to travel,” he said.

PTI