Comedian Vir Das slams Air India for poor service while travelling from Mumbai to Delhi

Despite paying Rs 50,000 per seat, Das said the flight featured a “broken table, broken leg rests, her (wife’s) seat is stuck reclined, won’t straighten fully”. He added that they were told the flight was “newly refurbished”.

The couple had booked Pranaam meet-and-greet services and requested a wheelchair in advance. Upon arrival in Delhi, passengers were deboarded via a stepladder.

According to Das, he asked the air hostesses at the front of the plane to assist his wife while he carried four bags. “Silence and a clueless look at each other,” he wrote, describing their response.

Dear @airindia Please reclaim your wheelchair. I’m a lifetime loyalist. I believe you’ve got the nicest cabin crew in the sky, this post pains me to write. My wife and I book Pranaam and a wheelchair because she’s got a foot fracture that’s still healing. We’re flying to delhi.…

— Vir Das (@thevirdas) April 14, 2025

An Air India spokesperson, meanwhile, said: “The operating cabin crew offered to assist the guest, including deplaning by using the ‘ambulift’ assigned to the aircraft as per SOP, but the delay – not denial – in providing wheelchair assistance was due to unusually high demand for wheelchairs and staff at that time.”

Das said after getting off the ladder, he asked a male Air India ground staff member for help. “Looks at me, shrugs, and ignores me,” he wrote. His wife, despite her injury, descended the stepladder on her own. Das said he informed another staff member near the airport buses of the situation, who replied: “Sir kya karein… sorry.”

Inside the terminal, staff of Encalm – the firm in charge of the airport’s hospitality – reminded wheelchair personnel that a chair had been pre-booked. “He’s clueless,” Das wrote, adding that while wheelchairs were visible, no staff were available “because the flight is late”.

“I grab a chair and wheel her to baggage claim, then out of the airport to the parking. Encalm lets Air India know this is happening. No one shows,” he wrote.

“We empathize with the guests, especially given the mobility concern involved, and recognize that this experience fell short of expectations,” the Air India spokesperson added.