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With requests for wheelchairs surging at Indian airports, Biocon founder-chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has suggested a Rs 5,000 per airport fee, sparking a debate on social media. In response to reports of passengers seeking a wheelchair to avoid queues, Mazumdar-Shaw wrote, “They should charge an additional Rs 5,000 per airport and then they will see how many genuine passengers there are!”
The post quickly gained traction, prompting a wave of reactions. “It is worth it to pay 5000 as most of them are parents who can’t speak english or even travelling first time who will find it difficult to navigate the airport and security system,” a user wrote. “Why should the genuine suffer because of them…. attitude of ‘if it’s free then why not’ needs to change.But otherway round they should have more buggies as terminals are far and walking may not be that easy for the 30%,” another user commented.
“Madam, you have to understand the real reason behind this. Most of them visiting their kids and have language barrier. If they don’t opt in for wheel chair they might not be able to find their gate or pass the immigration by themself,” a third user reacted.
Mazumdar-Shaw’s comments come at a time when Air India is facing growing scrutiny over a spike in wheelchair requests, a surge that aviation officials say has become “unsustainable”. CNBC-TV18 reported in March that the airline now processes over 1 lakh wheelchair bookings each month across its domestic and international network. The issue is most pronounced on long-haul flights to North America and the UK, where a large proportion of passengers are elderly.
On March 20, 2025, the airline’s Delhi–Newark flight saw 89 wheelchair requests. The Delhi–Chicago route recorded 97 requests on February 4, and 99 on February 19, with nearly 30 per cent of the passengers requiring assistance. Domestic airports are also struggling, the report stated. While Mumbai airport handled 750 wheelchair bookings for Air India flights on February 27, and staff reported that some international flights see up to 120 such requests.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to issue guidelines on this matter soon. Officials warn that an excessive number of wheelchair bookings could compromise safety, as cabin crew may be unable to assist all dependent passengers during an emergency, the CNBC-TV18 report stated.
