Telugu Woman Passenger Asked to Change Seat on IndiGo Flight, KTR Responds

Hyderabad: An incident aboard IndiGo airlines involving a Telugu-speaking woman, who was moved from her seat, has sparked a discussion on discrimination on the basis of language on social media. 

A recent tweet from Devasmita Chakraverty, an Assistant Professor at IIM Ahmedabad, highlighted that the airline's staff moved a Telugu woman from her seat citing security issues as she could not understand English or Hindi instructions being given by the cabin crew. 

Indigo 6E 7297. Vijayawada (AP) to Hyderabad (Telangana), Sept 16-2022. The woman in green originally sitting in 2A (XL seat, exit row) was forced to seat 3C because she understood only Telugu, not English/Hindi. The attendant said it's a security issue. #discrimination @IndiGo6E pic.twitter.com/bHa8hQj5vz

— Devasmita Chakraverty, PhD, MPH (@DevasmitaTweets) September 17, 2022

The Telugu woman passenger was flying from Vijayawada to Hyderabad on September 16, 2022. She was sitting in her assigned 2A (XL seat, exit row). The cabin staff asked her to move to seat 3C as the 2A seat was close to the emergency exit and the staff found out that she could not follow their instructions about the action needed during the emergency. 

A few users termed the behaviour of the cabin crew as rude while others tried to be rational. They said seat 2A is critical and in the event of an emergency, the person sitting on the seat must be able to follow the instructions of the cabin crew. 

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Telangana’s IT Minister KT Rama Rao responded to the tweet and asked the budget airlines to employ people who can speak local languages on the specific routes. 

Dear @IndiGo6E Management, I request you to start respecting local languages & passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi

In regional routes, recruit more staff who can speak the local language like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada etc. This will be a win-win solution https://t.co/GbJGi5nl0W

— KTR (@KTRTRS) September 18, 2022