Probe ordered after British Airways offloads Indian family

New Delhi: Following allegations made by an Indian family that they were deboarded from a British Airways flight, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday ordered a probe into the matter. According to the family, they were offloaded from the plane after their son started crying on board.

Narrating his family's ordeal in a two-page letter to Prabhu on August 3, senior bureaucrat AP Pathak demanded a thorough investigation and strictest possible action against the British Airways staff.

Pathak, who was travelling to Berlin from London has alleged that they were initially threatened and later made to deboard the aircraft. The child was reportedly three years old.

The officer has alleged "racial discrimination" and "rude behaviour" by the British Airways, which deplaned him and his family from the flight last month minutes before take off.

Pathak has alleged that another Indian family, sitting behind them, was also offloaded as they offered biscuits to the child to console him. The incident happened on July 23.

The bureaucrat alleged that the crew got the plane (BA 8495) to return to the tarmac, where the security personnel took their boarding passes away. The customer care service manager did not give reasons for offloading them nor the management took action against the crew despite lodging a complaint, he claimed.

The bureaucrat is a joint secretary-level officer in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He has written to the government for help and sought a compensation from the British Airways. 

Taking note of the incident, the British Airways has initiated an investigation into the alleged harassment. "We take claims like this extremely seriously and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We have started a full investigation and are in direct contact with the customer," British Airways said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)