DGCA sees spike in passenger complaints amid growing air travel issues in 2024

In a first the number of air passengersrsquo complaints with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA crossed the 1000mark in July 2024 and then again in August As per DGCA data till June the numbers were limited to 800 The DGCA received 1097 complaints in July and in August it got 1031 grievancesLastminute flight cancellations remain one of the primary reasons for passengersrsquo frustration A frequent flyer anonymously told midday ldquoMy job requires me to hop across India mostly by air At any airport the first thing I do is check the departure schedule At least one flight is always delayed Passengers waiting for hours to get on a flight is a common sight at airports across IndiardquoHe added ldquoIf I am late by even five minutes I am not allowed to board but if the flight is delayed for hours no action is taken against the airline I have flown Kingfisher and Jet Airways too Delays happened back then also but it wasnrsquot as bad Air passengers have increased today but this doesnrsquot mean the travel experience should deterioraterdquoAir travellers are still a minority in India The cost of food at the airports adds to journey expenses and airport lounges cater to a select few Ideally affected passengers should be provided with refreshments and accommodation as per DGCA guidelines However it has been reported in these columns that when flights are delayed passengers are left to fend for themselvesAviation rights activist advocate Yashwant Shenoy told midday ldquoCommunication gap is a major reason for passengersrsquo frustration Passengers arrive on time only to realise their flight is delayed or cancelled There have been multiple instances when flights were diverted but passengers were left unattended and to figure out an alternate route for themselvesrdquoCaptain Mohan Ranganathan a senior industry expert said ldquoOnce a boarding pass is issued to a passenger it is a contract between the passenger and the airline and it is the latterrsquos responsibility to take care of all the expenses like arranging for an alternate flight along with providing refreshments in cases of delays diversions and cancellations The Civil Aviation Requirements CARs are never enforced Airlines are the ones controlling the DGCA which is why no stringent action has been takenrdquoAir travellersrsquo lack of awareness about DGCA norms and the Passengers Charter often results in airlines exploiting them The Passengers Charter outlines passengersrsquo rights in a simplified manner while the CAR is detailed guidelines set by the DGCA to ensure passenger care An industry analyst on condition of anonymity stated ldquoThe DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation MoCA have set up several rules norms and guidelines that help passengers understand their rights Filing an official complaint is another way out but that is a timely process Informed passengers will always have an upper handrdquoAccording to experts the ground staffrsquos curt attitude has also caused dissatisfaction among passengers ldquoAs per my observation ldquo Ranganathan said ldquoairline staff has become rude In a customeroriented industry one cannot afford to do thisrdquoLamenting on the status of regulatory bodies Shenoy said ldquoIn India passengers are the ones who suffer The DGCA is controlled by airlines and will never come to their rescue No passenger would fight a decadelong legal battle to claim a few thousand Rupees They DGCA are regulators only on paper not by action History will prove that DGCA worked only for the airlines The biggest bidder read dominant airline controls DGCA During the COVID19 pandemic the DGCA regulated airfares saying that price wars would take out small companies but it never interfered when airfares soared The levying of fines that we have seen of late is not action but an exemption given to safe practices In other countries an airline is grounded for unsafe practices In India they are penalised financially This means the lives of passengers can be put at risk by paying penaltiesrdquoHe also said ldquoBoth the DGCA and the MoCA know that affected passengers will not approach the judiciary because it is so slow Pursuing a lawsuit is more expensive than the amount they are fighting forrdquo Ranganathan added ldquoRefund rules are designed to benefit airlines The rules have several grey areas which the airlines can exploit to deny repayments or refundsrdquoThe increasing frustration among passengers is a vast topicrdquo senior DGCA official on condition of anonymity said ldquoOften we DGCA remain or are kept in the dark about occurrences because passengers or airlines never report them Lack of awareness is another big issue Passenger needs to be educated about their rights so that any incident is promptly reported and strict action is taken against the airlines Often the airlines take advantage of this lack of awarenessrdquoThe official also stated ldquoWhen the gap between the passenger and the regulatory bodies is decreased the frustration will reduce while the number of complaints will rise prompting us to act against the airlinesrdquo The industry analyst who spoke to midday requesting anonymity also echoed the same sentiment about the possible rise in the number of complaints filed with the DGCA if the passengers are more informedHowever the DGCA official also said passengers may be at fault too ldquoThere are two casesmdasheither a passenger is not aware of his or her rights and is unable to fight back or the passenger is at fault and the airlines act against them resulting in conflict The regulatory bodies some time back penalised the Mumbai Airport and IndiGo when a video of passengers eating on the tarmac went viral In this case the passengers were at fault as they were not aware that they were not supposed to be sitting on the tarmac but the penalty was levied upon the airline and the airport too as they were the ones who failed to make sure the passengers didnrsquot act this wayrdquoKnow your rights as air passengersgtgt If a domestic flight is expected to be delayed beyond six hours the rescheduled time should be communicated 24 hours before the originally scheduled departure time and the airline shall offer the option of either an alternate flight within six hours or a full refundgtgt If the airline experiences a delay in flight departure which is communicated more than 24 hours before its original scheduled time and if the delay is more than 24 hours or more than six hours for flights scheduled to depart between 8 PM and 3 AM the airline must provide free accommodationgtgt If the passenger is informed of the flight cancellation between two weeks and 24 hours before scheduled departure time the airline must offer an alternate flight or refund the tickets as preferred by the passengergtgt In case of denied boarding due to the flight being overbooked the airline must arrange an alternate flight scheduled to depart within one hour of the original scheduled departure timeIn case the airline fails to do so the airline must provide compensationgtgt In case the airline loses or damages baggage it is liable for compensation of up to R20000 per passengergtgt All airports must be wellequipped to provide free WiFi service so that passengers stay connected while they check in and wait for boarding to commenceWebsite wwwdgcagovin