With domestic air travellers exceeding pre-Covid levels month after month and recording new highs, a spate of complaints from passengers has forced the government to discuss setting up of an ombudsman or an authority to address grievances.
The Department of Consumer Affairs on Wednesday held a meeting with online travel aggregators, officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after it received nearly 10,000 complaints made through the National Consumer’s Helpline over the past 7-8 months over issues such as delays in refunds from airlines, denied boarding and unavailability of free seats at the time of booking a ticket and web check-in.
“The establishment of an Ombudsman for time-bound resolution of consumer grievances was also deliberated. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Department of Consumer Affairs can jointly work on the modalities involved in establishing the same,” said a press statement issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
