A mother has taken issue with Vistara Airlines after she claimed her daughter was injured aboard a flight earlier this month. Rachna Gupta and her 10-year-old daughter, Tara, were traveling from New Delhi, India, to Frankfurt, Germany, when Tara was allegedly burned by hot chocolate at the hands of the flight's service crew. The child reportedly suffered serious injuries and was taken to a German hospital after the plane landed.
Vistara Airlines disputed the mother's claim, blaming the injury on Tara's behavior on the plane, and does not feel the flight attendants were responsible. Gupta told her story in a series of tweets, and followers chimed in with who they believed was responsible.
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Gupta alleges the beverage was 'extremely hot.'
According to her tweets, Tara asked for a hot chocolate on the plane, and the flight attendant obliged. But when the attendant returned to the family's seats with two cups, one of them reportedly spilled on Tara's lap. Gupta alleges Tara was injured.
"My child was sitting & watching a movie while not disturbing anyone. The beverage was extremely hot, causing a second-degree burn to my kid. Are there any protocols in place to ensure the temperature of the beverages served on board?" she tweeted.
The flight crew allegedly didn't know how to treat Tara's injuries.
In another Tweet, Gupta alleges that airline employees "lacked basic first-aid knowledge" and did not properly care for Tara. Gupta explained that once on the ground in Germany, she had to transport her daughter to an ambulance to tend to her medical needs and was left with the bill. She also alleges that no one on the flight apologized to her.
She claims the airline changed its tune once it saw her tweets. Gupta tweeted that no one from Vistara Airlines reached out to her for 31 hours after the incident, saying she felt the airline didn't take any responsibility for the spilled drink or Tara's injuries.
"Only after sharing the incident on Twitter, the country manager reached out to us," she wrote.
Vistara replied on Twitter.
The airline responded and said it would investigate the situation.
The tweet reads: "Hi Rachna, we deeply regret that such an incident took place and fully understand the concern and distress it must have caused. We have internally escalated this to all concerned teams. Rest assured, we will give you the best possible assistance. We have shared the details via DM. We appreciate your kind understanding. Thanks, Aishwarya."
Twitter users came out in support of Gupta and Tara.
People sympathized with the mother, who appeared to have been deserted.
"Airlines shud extend all possible help to aggrieved Mother so that she can ensure that her child is properly taken care after this grave injury," a tweet reads. "In a foreign land with lack of language skill it becomes extremely difficult to get thru to people. Airlines shud hv done abv SOP."
"Hope the child is recovering well !" another user wrote. "Kindly file a official complaint on cpgrams and dgca once back with all evidence."
"Shameful behaviour by the airline …" someone else commented.
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Vistara contends they did nothing wrong.
The airline released statements to various media outlets regarding the alleged incident. It seems to place the blame on Tara and not the flight crew. Per Insider, the airline confirmed the incident to the Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News.
"An unfortunate occurrence transpired on flight UK25 from Delhi to Frankfurt on August 11, 2023. A child sustained injuries due to the spillage of hot beverage on her body. The cabin crew had served hot chocolate to the child upon the parents' request. However, due to the child's playful behavior during the service, the hot water accidentally spilled," Vistara explained in the statement.
"As per our established protocols, our crew promptly administered first aid for the spillage and enlisted the assistance of an onboard paramedic, who volunteered to aid until the flight landed in Frankfurt," Vistara said in the statement. The airline also claims they arranged for Gupta and Tara to fly back to New Delhi.
