Hyderabad: A UAE national suffering from a heart ailment collapsed at the check-in counter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad after a heated argument by the staff on the issue of excess baggage.
The dispute and the arguments over baggage caused Farzana Naushad Ali to miss her flight to Dubai yesterday morning and was forced to return from the airport. Farzana, who is a regular visitor to Hyderabad for checkup and medical treatment at Care Hospital and Apollo Hospital for a heart ailment, did not receive any help from the airport staff and it was left to a co-passenger to help her and offer water.
A tearful Farzana, who was to travel by Air India, told the reporters that she will never forget the way she was insulted by the counter staff, including a lady. "What angered me most was she kept objecting to the weight of my medical record. She asked me how can I carry 2 kg of paper. I explained to her that it was absolutely necessary for me to keep the record with me as I am prone to a heart attack any time. But she did not listen and I was harassed and mentally tortured," she said.
She suffered an injury on her forehead after she fell down on the ground. "When I fell down, the lady at the counter was swiftly sent away and another male staff members took the position and they started blaming me for the problem."
Ali said that she was well aware that if a passenger travels on a ticket purchased in India, she would be allowed only 20 kg of luggage, while it was 30kg if the ticket was purchased in UAE.
"I always took care never to carry more than my allowance. But this time the lady at the counter created a ruckus over my medical records."
