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New Delhi: 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 reviewing AI submissions, the competent authority has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh as part of enforcement action.” Furthermore, the airline has been urged to put mechanisms in place promptly to remedy the issue, failing which the DGCA will take additional action, “the aviation authority said in a statement.
Following many allegations of passengers being denied boarding by a number of airlines despite having valid tickets and being on time, action was taken. Despite the fact that guidelines were in existence, certain airlines were not following them, the DGCA said after conducting a series of checks at 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 seems 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.
In establishing guidelines for denying boarding to a passenger despite a valid ticket, the DGCA stated that no compensation is to be paid if an airline is able to arrange an alternate flight for the said passenger within an hour.
However, if the airline is able to provide the alternate arrangement within the next 24 hours, a compensation of up to Rs 10,000 is prescribed, it said, adding that for anything beyond 24 hours, a compensation of up to Rs 20,000 is laid down.
