Over 1,600 complaints on air fares, refunds registered with government in last 18 months

NEW DELHI: Over 1,600 complaints related to air fares and refunds have been registered by with the government in the last 18 months, reflecting the collective disquiet among the passengers about ticket cancellations and high prices.

Data released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation from the revamped AirSewa app also show that between November 26, 2016, and June 5 this year, close to 2,000 grievances about flight delays and 902 grievances about check-in and boarding were received.

However, with the help of the app, a one-source window providing all types of aviation related solutions, 95 per cent of the complaints were resolved, the ministry said, but did not elaborate on steps taken to resolve the issues.

The ministry tweeted, "99% of 2,189 registered grievances in airports category & 95% of 6,551 grievances in airlines category were resolved between 26th Nov'16 and 5th June'18. By ensuring prompt redressal of customer complaints, #AirSewa is improving passenger experience (sic)," It also provided a breakup of passenger-related complaints in the airport and the airline sector."

99% of 2,189 registered grievances in airports category & 95% of 6,551 grievances in airlines category were resolved between 26th Nov'16 and 5th June'18. By ensuring prompt redressal of customer complaints, #AirSewa is improving passenger experience. https://t.co/euHk5WsRbc pic.twitter.com/YAK85NWjfV

— Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) June 12, 2018

The 1,640 complaints related to ticketing fare and refunds assumes significance as the the ministry has last week unveiled the draft citizen charter, which, once implemented, enables passenger with domestic air ticket to cancel the ticket or amend spelling mistakes within 24 hours without paying any cancellation charge if the flight is four days later.

While some airlines are understood to have objected to this norm, a few others, such as Vistara, said that they have already implemented it under its flexi fare scheme.

It has sent a mail to ticket booking agents recently to make them aware of the zero cancellation fees.

The finer details of the citizen charter is believed to have been deliberated between the airlines and the ministry during a recent interaction with the stakeholders.

According to the ministry, during the 18 month period, 315 complaints about seating areas in airports and 295 complaints about cleanliness and hygiene were reported by AirSewa app.