Air India has been fined Rs 10 lakh by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for denying boarding to passengers with valid tickets.
“After going through AI submissions, as part of enforcement action, the competent authority has levied a penalty of Rs 10 Lakh. In addition, the airline has been advised to immediately put the systems in place to resolve the issue failing which further action shall be taken by DGCA,” the aviation watchdog said in a statement.
The move follows many complaints of passengers being denied boarding by a number of airlines despite having legitimate tickets and arriving on time. Despite the fact that guidelines were in existence, the DGCA found that several airlines were not following them after performing a series of checks in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi.
“In the case of Air India, where the regulation is not being followed, a show cause notice was issued to the Airline and also a personal hearing was afforded. It appears that the airline does not have a policy in this regard and is not paying any compensation to hapless passengers, whose numbers can be anybody’s guess,” the DGCA said.
The DGCA stated in its guidelines for denying boarding to a customer with a valid ticket that if an airline is able to find an alternate trip for the passenger within an hour, no compensation will be paid.
