Silver medallist Deepa Malik alleges 'rude' behaviour by Vistara Airlines staff

Deepa Malik alleged that a cabin crew member of TATA-SIA-run Vistara was rude to her during her flight from Mumbai on Wednesday. Deepa is the first Indian woman to win a medal at Paralympics. She bagged a silver medal last month at the Rio Games.  

Malik, who was travelling on Vistara's Mumbai to Delhi flight UK 902 on Wednesday when the incident happened, also complained to the airlines about "poor handling" of wheelchair-bound passengers by the airline staff.

In her written complaint to the airline, she alleged that one of the cabin crew members behaved rudely with her when she called her mother to inform her about the delayed flight from Mumbai.

"Crew member Priyanka was very rude on the flight. She told me to keep speak softly when I called parents to inform them about the delay in flight," the silver medallist wrote in the complaint.

"On objecting, she said 'sweetheart, chill'," Malik wrote; also wheelchair handling is so poor that you do not know how to shift a person from seat to cabin chair. The entire staff stands and looks at each other for 10 minutes. No action."

She also alleged that the crew were not trained to to help her reach the cabin seat. 

Later, in a series of tweets, she urged the airline to treat physically challenged passengers with dignity. She also tagged her tweets to Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

After Malik, who made India proud by becoming first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games in Rio last month, went public about her complaint on the micro-blogging site, Vistara apologised to her and assured her of a through a probe and necessary action.

"As a team, we would like to apologise Deepa for her disappointing experience sincerely. We have been in touch with Deepa and are grateful for the feedback shared by her. We are investigating the incident thoroughly and will take all necessary corrective actions to ensure something like this never occurs again," Vistara said in an apology letter to Deepa.