DGCA issues show cause notice to Air India for flight delay compensation

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to Air India for allegedly violating its rules regarding compensation to passengers when their flights were delayed.

This is not the first instance of Air India coming under the regulator's scrutiny for violating its rules pertaining to passenger compensation. In June of last year, the regulator fined Air India Rs 10 lakh for not providing required compensation to passengers with valid tickets who were denied boarding.

"In order to ensure compliance with passenger-centric CARs (civil aviation regulations), the DGCA carried out inspections of scheduled domestic airlines at various major airports on a continuing basis since May 2023. During the inspections of the airlines, it was observed that Air India was not complying with the provisions of the relevant CAR," it mentioned.

"Accordingly, a show cause notice has been issued to Air India seeking their response for non-compliance with the provisions of the CAR," the regulator's statement on Tuesday noted. A DGCA official explained to Business Standard that during the inspection, it was found that the airline inadequately compensates passengers for delayed flights. Air India did not respond to Business Standard's queries regarding this matter.

According to regulations, if a flight is delayed for 2-6 hours, passengers should receive meals and refreshments. For delays exceeding six hours, airlines must offer either an alternate flight within six hours or a full ticket refund. If a flight, scheduled to depart between 8 pm and 3 am, is delayed by more than six hours, the airline must provide a hotel room.

The regulator on Tuesday recalled the aforementioned June 2022 penalty. "It may be recalled that similar inspections had earlier been carried out at major airports last year also and on the grounds of similar non-compliance by Air India with the provisions of CAR on denied boarding of passengers, a penalty of Rs 10 lakh was imposed on Air India for the violations," it mentioned.

The DGCA said it considers it imperative to continuously strengthen the rights of passengers and ensure that airlines operate under harmonized conditions in line with best global practices.

It said it has issued regulations to ensure appropriate protection for air travellers in case of flight disruptions and, in particular, denied boardings, flight cancellations and delays.