Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slapped a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for non-compliance with stipulated norms on facilities and compensation to be provided to passengers affected by instances such as flight delays, cancellations, and being made to travel on unserviceable seats.
This is the second time such an action has been taken against Air India in the past one-and-a-half years. In June 2022, the DGCA had imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on the Tata group airline over violation of regulations pertaining to boarding denials.
“DGCA carried out inspections at Delhi, Kochi & Bangalore Airports of Scheduled Domestic Operators in the months of May & September, 2023 to ascertain the discharge of their obligations related to facilities/compensation provided to the passengers as per provisions laid down in DGCA regulations. During the inspections of the airlines, it was observed that Air India was not complying with the provisions of the relevant CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements),” the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.
Following the inspections, the DGCA had issued a show cause notice to the airline on November 3, seeking its response to the regulator’s observations over non-compliance with the relevant norms. At the time, the regulator had said that it considered it essential to continuously strengthen the rights of passengers and ensure that carriers operate under “harmonized conditions” in accordance with global best practices.
The CAR relevant to this show cause notice is titled ‘Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights’, which was issued in 2010 and has been revised from time to time over the years. As per the regulator, the CAR was issued to ensure appropriate protection for air travellers in case of flight disruptions, “in particular, denied boardings, flight cancellations and delays”.
“Based on the reply submitted by Air India, it was found that M/s Air India has not complied with the provisions of the CAR, inter-alia, not providing hotel accommodation for passengers affected by delayed flights, non training of some of their ground personnel as per the stipulations laid down in the CAR and non-payment of compensation to international business class passengers who were made to travel on unserviceable seats,” the regulator said on Wednesday. Air India has so far not commented on the DGCA’s action.
