87% IndiGo fliers want service lapses probed under CP Act class action

As much as 87 per cent of respondents of a survey conducted on IndiGo passengers said they wanted service deficiency of the airline to be put under Class Action provision of the CP Act 2019, a statement said on Saturday.

A class action provision is a legal mechanism that allows a group of people with a common grievance to collectively sue a company for acts like mismanagement or fraud.

The survey was conducted by LocalCircles in the wake of domestic carrier IndiGo cancelling hundreds of flights in the last four days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at various airports in the country, as airfares hit the skies.

There have been class-action (or proposed class-action) lawsuits -- mostly outside India -- against airlines over refund, cancellation, compensation and related issues, it said.

Beyond cancellations and delays, many IndiGo fliers raised serious concerns about refund integrity (deductions and delays), failed "zero-cancellation/insurance" promises, shifting itineraries without consent, and lack of adequate compensation or support even when they missed crucial flights, LocalCircles said.

The survey asked fliers, "Should the CCPA take up service deficiency of IndiGo under Class Action provision of the Consumer Protection Act 2019?"  Out of 32,547 who responded to the question 87 per cent stated "yes, absolutely"; 3 per cent stated "no, not needed" and 10 per cent did not give a clear answer, it said.

"To sum up, 87 per cent of airline passengers surveyed want CCPA to take up service deficiency of Indigo under Class Action provision of the Consumer Protection Act 2019," it said.

Many passengers who accepted cancellations or cancelled their own bookings say the refunds credited to them were well below the fare paid -- despite the "100 per cent refund" assurance, as per the survey, which sought air passengers' views on what they see as pertinent action by the government.

The survey received over 30,000 responses from consumers in 303 districts of India.