In a recent development, over 100 flights of Air India Express have been canceled, leaving passengers severely impacted. The cancellations are reportedly due to a shortage of cabin crew resulting from protests by Air India Express employees against the management. Passengers, especially those traveling to Gulf countries, have experienced significant delays and incurred financial losses. Particularly distressing was the case of a family unable to travel due to the strike, missing out on the opportunity to attend to a critically ill family member in Muscat, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
The airline has yet to resume and stabilize its network, causing further inconvenience to its customers. While the privatization of Indian aviation has granted airlines commercial freedom in pricing and services, this freedom must not come at the expense of passengers’ rights. Airlines bear the responsibility of ensuring that service disruptions do not negatively impact travelers. The “nine freedoms of the Air” are designed to facilitate hassle-free and convenient travel for passengers, not to be exploited by airlines for their commercial interests.
The sudden strike by Air India Express employees has caused immense struggle and difficulty for hundreds of passengers who had already checked in for their flights. This includes employees needing to return to duty, families reuniting, business travelers, and tourists, all of whom have been severely affected. Canceling flights or failing to operate them without prior notice constitutes a violation of passengers’ rights, especially when passengers are denied boarding after check-in and receiving boarding passes, leading to chaos.
The President of the Airline Users Rights and Grievances Redressal Forum (AURGRF), Biji Eapen, and the General Secretary, Adv Ajith Marath, have issued a statement urging the civil aviation ministry to take necessary steps to prevent such occurrences in the future. There is an urgent need for better management and communication within the airline industry to protect passengers’ rights and welfare, especially with passenger traffic exceeding 4.8 Lakhs per day across 139 airports in India.
AURGRF urges the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to implement necessary regulatory changes to ensure oversight of such situations. Indian passengers rightly demand transparency, accountability, and the protection of their rights while availing of airline services.
Passengers facing challenges related to ticket re-issuance, refunds, or other issues are encouraged to reach out to the assistance desk at helpdesk@airlineusersforum.com for support.
We should able to file PIL when concerned people keep quite against evil.
The airlines are indeed exploiting the passengers as well as their agents. Pre seat allocation charges is one such example. There is no clarity in their fare rules. In one case with All Nippon Airways, we had reissued the ticket charging the difference in fare as per system plus the penalty which is the normal practice. But the airline sent us an ADM for Rs.2,09,505- as they wanted the difference to be collected should have been for the ” normal fare for NC type fares”. There was no clarity as to what is NC type fares or what are normal fares in the fare rules.
This ADM was disputed but again rejected by the airline. No one is listening in the airline. It is rediculous.
Can someone please help in this. It is very difficult for a small agent like me to bear this cost.
Please share a press note in this regard, we will publish and will also speak to the airline