IndiGo crew changes seat of flyer for not knowing Hindi or English, Twitter row erupts

In a recent incident, an IndiGo passenger was reportedly made to leave her exit row seat because of language barrier. The incident came to light after a tweet on the same by a flyer hit the headlines.

The flight was from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. The passenger, who did not understand either English or Hindi, was shifted from the exit row to the one behind it, according to an account by a fellow flyer.

Exit row seats, placed next to emergency exits, are usually in demand because they provide extra legroom, for which there is an extra charge.


A flyer named Devasmita Chakraverty, an IIT professor, tweeted about the matter on September 17.

"Attendant said it's a safety issue that she doesn't understand English/Hindi," Chakraverty tweeted, adding, "No dignity, non-Hindi treated as second class citizens in their own state."
Some Twitter users responded to Chakraverty saying that exit row flyers should be able to communicate with the crew in order to be of assistance should an emergency arise. If they are not, the crew can decide to shift them to elsewhere.

It is the airline's responsibility to carry out necessary checks before selling exit row seats, some pointed out.

Telangana minister KT Rama Rao also took note of the matter, saying IndiGo should employ crew with knowledge of local languages on regional routes.

Some users were angry over the episode, saying it was unacceptable for an airline not to have crew member/s who can understand Telugu. "Clearly Hindi Imposition and discrimination against non-Hindi language," tweeted a user named C Ramana Kumar.

IndiGo has yet to issue a response on the matter.