The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday fined Air India Rs 10 lakh for denying boarding to passengers with valid tickets and not offering them the mandated compensation, PTI reported.
According to the rules, a passenger who is denied boarding in spite of having a valid ticket must either be compensated or provided with an alternate travel arrangement, The Indian Express reported.
If an alternate arrangement is provided within an hour, airlines do not need to pay any compensation. In case of alternate flights within 24 hours, a passenger is owed a compensation of up to Rs 10,000, and beyond that up to Rs 20,000.
On Tuesday, the aviation regulator said that a series of checks and surveillance at Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi showed that Air India did not follow the regulations, PTI reported. The DGCA had issued a show cause notice to the airline and held a hearing on the matter.
The airline regulator concluded that Air India does not have a policy to compensate passengers. It recommended that the airline should implement the regulations and warned Air India of further action if it fails to comply with the orders.
“To say the least, it is a matter of serious concern and unacceptable,” the aviation regulator said, according to PTI. “In the specific cases detailed in the show cause notice, after going through Air India submissions, as part of enforcement action, the competent authority has levied a penalty of Rs 10 lakh.”
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