Female cancer patient offloaded from American Airlines flight after seeking crew's assistance with her handbag

Digital Desk: A woman cancer patient who had recently undergone surgery and was scheduled to fly on American Airlines flight AA-293 from Delhi to New York on January 30 was allegedly offloaded at the Delhi airport because she was unable to follow the crew's instructions to keep her handbag in the overhead compartment.

The passenger stated that she had sought assistance with lifting the suitcase since she had recently undergone surgery and was wearing a cast, but she was turned down and instructed to exit the flight. Meenakshi Sengupta, a patient in the United States, has reported American Airlines to authorities for "mistreating her and wrongfully deboarding her from the aeroplane when she requested assistance carrying a bag weighing more than 5 pounds."

In her complaint, Sengupta said, "the ground staff was really friendly and kind and helped me get into the aeroplane and put my handbag on the side of the seat. Once on board, I spoke with the flight attendants and informed them of my medical situation. None of the flight attendants mentioned putting her luggage away, but when the lights darkened and the plane was about to take off, a flight attendant instructed me to keep the bag in the overhead bin and refused to help, stating "it's not my responsibility." 

"The captain and other senior crew members were mostly unconcerned and didn't want to get involved. They just kept questioning if I could lift my own suitcases and manage things. It is not their responsibility to assist passengers (even with special needs or health issues). They told me that if I'm so uncomfortable, I should just get off the plane. "They made a group decision to deboard me," Sengupta alleged.

"We will demand a report and look into this," said Arun Kumar, Director General of Civil Aviation, according to TOI. Insensitivity is not tolerated."

According to an American Airlines statement. "On January 30, prior to the departure of American Airlines flight 293 from Delhi (DEL) to New York (JFK), a disruptive passenger was removed off the aircraft for failing to follow crew member instructions. Our Consumer Relations team contacted the customer and offered to reimburse the unused amount of their ticket."

Sengupta was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery while on vacation in India. She had to return to the United States after that.

After the incident, she had to purchase a new ticket on a different airline because she needed to go to the doctor there to continue receiving medical care.