NO SANITARY PAD AT PATNA AIRPORT; WOMAN MISSES FLIGHT

PATNA: A young woman said she missed her flight to Hyderabad from Patna on Friday as there was no sanitary napkin available at the airport.

Kanak Lata Pathak, 19, who works with a leading apparel firm in Hyderabad, said she could not find a pharmacy or a working vending machine at that airport. “The delay cost me my flight. I reached the Spicejet check-in counter 25 minutes prior to the departure of my flight. Despite my repeated requests, the staff denied me entry to the flight,” she said over phone from Hyderabad.

Pathak, who reached here the same morning to see an ailing friend, was forced to stay back. She returned to Hyderabad on Saturday. A sanitary pad vending machine was installed at the women restroom inside the security hold area of the airport on March 8. The same, however, was reportedly not working.

Patna airport director Rajender Singh Lahauria said, “We have a vending machine for passengers. If it’s not working, we will inform the agency, which has installed it.”

“Without considering the reason for my delay, the airline declared me a “no-show passenger” (not showing up 45 minutes prior to the departure of an outbound flight). I was not even given a refund,” she said.

The Spicejet, however, denied Pathak’s allegations.

“The passenger hasn’t sought any refund. In fact, as per DGCA [Directorate General of Civil Aviation] rules, a passenger reporting late for a flight is not entitled to a refund,” said Tushar Srivastava, head, corporate communications, Spicejet.

“The passenger reached late for the flight. As an airline operator, Spicejet does everything to help its passengers… There can be a number of reasons (for passenger’s late reporting). We stick to rules for safety and security purposes,” Srivastava added.